JUDGE AND JURY
In Wichita, Kansas a man appeared in court for a speeding ticket. Pretty normal...except that when he arrived, the court was closed due to a heavy snowfall. Three days later this letter arrived at the clerk's office:
"I was scheduled to be in court Feb.23 concerning a traffic ticket. Well, I was there as scheduled. And to my surprise I was the only one there. No one called and told me that court would be closed. After going through the snow to be there on time, I decided to go ahead with the hearing as scheduled, which meant that I had to be the accuser (the patrolman who gave me the citation) and I had to be the accused and also the judge.
"The citation was for going 46 mph in a 35 mph zone. I had the speed alert on my car set on 44 mph. As the accuser I felt that I was going over 35 mph, but as the accused I knew that I was not going 46 mph, and as the judge, and being the understanding man that I am, I decided to throw it out of court this time, but it had better not happen again." (Source: Success, Motivation and the Scriptures, William Cook)
You’ve got to admire his creativity, but does anyone think he stood a chance of pulling it off? It doesn’t quite work serving as defendant, judge and accuser. One day we'll all have an "appointment" in God's court (Rom.14:12). How convenient if we could be our own judge and accuser? But that right belongs to God alone; He is our judge and only He dispenses justice.
That may sound scary, but through Jesus we are given the incredible gift of forgiveness (Rom.5:1-11). He has removed our sins "as far as the east is from the west" (Psa.103:12). Jesus took our penalty for us, so we could be declared innocent. We don't need to minimize our sins or downplay our wrongdoings. We don't need to manipulate the court, like the man from Kansas. We simply need to trust in Him to save us. And we certainly don't need a snowstorm to make that happen!
In what ways do I attempt to declare myself "not guilty" rather than simply accept Christ's offer of innocence?
Lord, I know I’m guilty of numerous “crimes” against you, but I freely accept your offer of pardon from sin, and your gift of eternal life.