Just What He Needed

Rodney Gibson was speeding down a busy highway in Bloomington, Indiana in his truck earlier this month, but he didn’t realize it.  His mind was focused on something else.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Todd Durnil saw that Gibson was speeding, so he pulled him over.  It didn’t take Officer Durnil long to see that Gibson was very upset – not about the traffic stop, but about some other thing going on in his life.

Gibson explained with tears in his eyes that his daughter was recently told the breast cancer she'd been battling for six years had metastasized and that she likely wasn't going to make it.  He had been agonizing over that news and didn’t realize how fast he was driving.

On his way back to his patrol car, Durnil said his first thought was that Gibson really needed prayers.  He planned to tell his family and church to pray for Gibson.

“I also thought, this man already has enough.  I'm not going to write him any paperwork for a ticket or even a warning,” he said.  “When I walked back to his truck, I explained everything.  He still seemed agitated, but not as bad, and he apologized, saying, ‘I’m sorry.  I usually don't act this way; I’ve just been going through a lot.’”

Durnil then asked Gibson if there was anything else if he could do for him and Gibson asked, “Do you know how to pray?”

“Here I was thinking this man needs prayer, and now he's asking me for a prayer,” Durnil said.  “The good Lord put us together for a purpose.”

Durnil then went over to the right side of the semi, took his hat off, knelt down, took Gibson's hand and said a prayer. Both the men had tears in their eyes, Durnil said. *

Gibson deserved a ticket for speeding.  But what he needed was someone with compassion who would pray with him.  Sgt. Durnil gave him what he needed, not what he deserved.

Having transgressed the law of God, each of us deserves the punishment for sin: death.  “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

But what we need is forgiveness and hope.  What we NEED is the grace of God.

God loves us so much that despite the fact that we sin and continue to fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23), He gave His One and Only Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).  Through His atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

God will forgive and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

Because of His great love for us, God longs to give us what we need (GRACE) instead of what we deserve (PUNISHMENT).

Won’t YOU accept His offer on His terms?

* From “Indiana Cop Brings Speeding Driver to Tears With Prayer Rather Than Ticket” by AVIANNE TAN,  January 7, 2016,  Good Morning America and “The Policeman Who Offered Prayer Instead of Punishment” by Brett Petrillo in Daily Bread (1/18/16), an e-mail ministry of the Bear Valley church of Christ in Denver, CO.

David A. Sargent, Minister