A Divine Appointment

© By Doug Heffner Jr.

Editor’s Preface: Is Law Enforcement the Sword of The Lord? In the world of Lawyers that’s a common slogan they use to describe their profession – they are God’s Instrument for Justice. However before a law breaker needs a lawyer they first must be confronted by the Police, Deputy Sheriff or State Trooper; depending on where the crime is committed. Both lawyers and those in law enforcement are legal “arms” of the Court – where Judges perform their duties. Below are the thoughts that express the ‘sense of mission’ one member of law enforcement sees as the connection between his Christian faith and how he performs his duties on a daily basis.

I am hunting, sitting quietly and motionless waiting for my quarry. I know their habits. I know where they will pass at any given time of day. I know them well. I can spot one a mile away, even when buried in a herd, I can sift them out. I set up my position along a well traveled route. I know one will pass at any minute. I’ve done this a thousand times. I’ve become a proficient hunter.

Then the anticipated moment happens. I see one. I observe it for a moment, taking careful note of its speed and direction. I evaluate its size and abilities. This one is really moving. In a moment it will see me, and quickly slow down. It will try to continue by me nonchalantly, hoping I didn't‘ notice. But, it is too late. I have this one in my sights. I make my move.

In my mind I say, “You are so mine”. It is more than a phrase; it is my mental signal to begin the pursuit. With this statement, I make the commitment that this one will not get away. I move into action. I carefully move forward closing the gap between me and my prey. I may follow the target for a short distance, to study it. Have I seen this one before? What happened the last time I encountered it? Will it run? Will it turn to attack me? What are the possibilities? In my mind I run through a hundred possible outcomes, playing the what-if game. I do this to prepare for the unexpected. When my quarry makes its move I will be ready no matter what.

Now the time has come to end this. I signal the target to stop, to give its self up - or else. Some times they run in blind fear, afraid of what will happen. Most will comply; aware that running is futile and only makes it worse when they are eventually caught. I approach cautiously on foot. Most I encounter are unfamiliar to me. I don’t know their motives or capabilities. I scan the seemingly compliant one, in case this is a ruse. Watch the hands, watch the head, and never assume they are giving up. Hunters like me have been hurt, even killed, by those who have suddenly attacked.

I address my quarry. “Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, do you have your license ready for me? Can I have your registration and insurance please? Do you know why I am stopping you today“? This is an integrity test. Many people will try to feign ignorance. Some will protest their innocence. The smart ones will be up front and honest and take responsibility for their decision to speed. The people who are local should know better. They travel these roads often enough, sometimes daily. They have heard the stories whenever someone crashes. They know these roads are far from safe. Some have lost love ones on these paths, as proven by the white crosses springing from the ground with regularity along the roads. The visitors should have been paying attention. When traveling in unfamiliar areas more care is needed to avoid missing a critical sign which can mean the difference between getting to their destination, getting lost, or zipping through a school zone at warp speed.

I ask them if there is anything wrong with their license. This is another integrity test. I ask them if there are any unpaid tickets, warrants for their arrest, or if they have been robbing trains lately. This joke at the end of my questions often gets the desired laugh, allowing them to relax a little and lighten the tense mood. This is stressful for people. They will remember this traffic stop for a long time; it won’t be one of their cherished memories. Their verbal and body language response tells me volumes about this person. From these clues alone I often know when a driver has a suspended license or is wanted, or thinks they are.

I return to my cruiser and prepare the necessary paperwork. I am not vengeful or a ‘hard case’ as some assume, so I write only the truly vital citations. I could often hand someone ticket after ticket for their poor driving habits or the poor condition of their car. Bad driving is a bad habit. People who drive poorly tend to do so repeatedly and their car’s upkeep reflects this as well. Someone who drives with a suspended license usually won’t take the time to change a $3 license tag light bulb when it burns out.

I try to be fair and show mercy. We all need a little mercy sometimes. Mercy on this day is demonstrated through fairness and restraint. This often means not writing the $237.00 ticket for the cracked windshield. I’d rather they spent that money on fixing the glass; after all the point is to fix the problem. I channel that correction through a written warning. It is just an “educational pamphlet” to remind them of the needed fix or change in their behavior. I’d rather write a hundred tickets than go to a bad wreck. I believe the one can prevent the other. I return and explain the ticket and tell them know how to pay the fine, when the court date is and also give them some helpful tips.

I customarily write the lowest possible fine on the ticket; usually half of the maximum fine. I tell them how to get the ticket points reduced to the lowest possible. Cops and judges pay insurance too; and they get enough of our money. I part ways with the violator, reminding them to drive safely, encouraging them to “have a better day”. I might return to my position and await the next speeder, or respond to a call for service that comes over the radio. Few are the days when I can devote more than an hour to traffic enforcement. I regret this, but personnel manning and volume of service calls don’t allow for much more. I often wonder about the person I just stopped. Where are they in their journey through life? What are their struggles? What is their family like? At what point in their “life stream” have I just intervened?

I imagine my life like a moving line on a paper. It zigs and zags through the myriad events in my life. There have been turning points. Some have been ground shattering, some subtle. At each point a decision was made, and my life turned away from some possible outcome and onto the alternate choice. These choices lead to constructive or destructive outcomes. I recognize my line is not alone. In fact, there are billions of lines, each turning and moving. At different places in my line, another person’s line intersects mine. This is a meeting. Sometimes theses lines merge for a while. Most often they just cross and move on. In a marriage, the line merges with your spouse’s until they are nearly indistinguishable. If there is distance between them, they are in danger of diverging. A friend, coworker or acquaintance’s line travels nearby, occasionally crossing yours. When someone cuts you off in traffic, you honk at them and they return the famous one finger salute? Your line just crossed with theirs. While you’re busy telling someone about that maniac’s driving, their telling someone about yours.

As a military brat, my life intersected many, many people. In all of the places I have lived, from Arizona to North Dakota, from Panama to Guam, I have crossed paths with thousands of people. I have made friends and enemies, and then never seen them again. The lines crossed, interacted, and then went off in other directions. These lines likely will never merge again. So, how does this change the nature of the traffic stop?

I see it as a divine appointment, they were ‘meant’ to be stopped. I may think I choose when and where to set up traffic enforcement. In reality, there are greater forces at work here. Often, on a seeming whim, I have a moment to focus on the vehicles around me. I may see a driver in desperate need of correction and initiate a stop and introduce myself. My line has just intersected with theirs. What I do will influence, sometimes greatly, what happens for them afterward. Maybe this person is going through a hard time in their life. Maybe work or relationships are on the line and the driver is busy thinking about these things. Maybe they're in the habit of skimming through life, dodging work, family and responsibilities, seeking momentary happiness in things and substances. Human worries. Human strife. Human failings. I keep this in mind. This does not excuse the violation, but it helps me to understand it.

I deal with all sorts of people. I meet hard working, honest people who love their families and contribute to the greater good of society. I meet captains of business and government. I meet drunks and crack addicts. I meet thieves and liars who would as soon steal from you and lie to you than face the truth. Here is the one common denominator. God made them in His likeness. Each is an authentic eternal being intended to persist forever. There is no expiration date on a soul. It will remain, although in whose neighborhood it ends up is THE question. It is sure hard to see that sometimes. To look at a filthy crack prostitute, when just touching her driver’s license sends shivers of disgust up my spine. (I have to keep lots of antibacterial hand sanitizer bottles in my car). To look and be mindful that she was made in His image? How absurd!

To know that when this person was born, their proud parents looked at their child with that universal, instant parental love. That they were filled with the hope that this child will become great. Will they become a doctor, lawyer, president, astronaut, pilot, or Olympic athlete? I don’t think a druggie, a thief or a human doormat was on that list. To see how far their life as deteriorated, and to somehow still see that signature from the Great Architect? This is who Jesus died for? This wretch? Someone who has ticked off everyone in their life? Someone who has alienated their entire family? Yet He loved them so much that He died on the cross for this seeming dirt bag.

I have seen the underbelly of human existence, the murders, the deceit, the hopelessness and pain; it shows me the depth of God’s love. Humanity is a vast ocean. We know that each of us is fallen, that each of us deserves death. We all deserve Hell. In the larger picture that God sees, my sins are no different then those of that crack addict. He loves us both equally. He has no favorites.

I am not here to judge them. He does that. Every day the universal law that says we reap what we sow is evident to me as I see the outcomes. More than once I have learned that someone I pulled over in the past for a violation has recently driven into a tree, and died. God’s law is immutable. Play the odds and you will eventually lose.

On a regular basis, NASA controllers have to send signals out to satellites and other research probes. These vehicles have paths they must maintain to prevent destruction so they can continue doing their job or reach a destination. These signals direct the satellites to fire rockets to cause a course correction. When these vehicles get too far from the source of the signal, to receive or understand, or when the receivers malfunction the corrective action is never taken. The vehicle continues on and loses its usefulness to the controllers; destruction will eventually follow.

I see each stop, each encounter, as a genuine divine appointment. This is no turn of a phrase. It is what it is. I am God’s hand of correction in this person’s life. Or, as they say in the legal profession “A sword of the Lord”. I don’t know their situation and I don’t need to. I merely have to do my part to intervene in their life. I hope that they will take the correction to heart and get to their proper destination. The choice is up to them. My choice is to be available, attuned to Him and ready to step out of my comfortable, dry cruiser and endure the poor weather and poor attitudes I encounter on a daily basis. I know that my job is a divine calling. My entire life has led me to this profession. It is where I was meant to be. I have been doing this in some capacity for over 20 years. I do not count myself an expert. I still and always will have much to learn. There is always a better way to do what we do.

The Bible says we are to obey the laws of the land, that the king does not carry a sword for no reason. The sword is there to enforce the king’s law and to punish the one who disobeys. I am the sword of the law. Just as a sword does not move on its own power but must be wielded by a skilled swordsman I am wielded by His invisible hand, cutting where He directs. I think that I choose the time and place but it is His plan is at work. I am merely a cog in the mechanism intersecting this person’s life and then moving on to the next one.

When you are sitting at a stop light next time, look around. Ask yourself who are these people? What are their lives like? Why is it that you are here now, at this moment, with them? Why is your line brushing by their’s in this instance in time? Ask, is their something I am supposed to be doing? What courtesy in driving could I show that will influence the rest of their day? Too often we drive to and from work oblivious to the world around us. Every single day we pass a thousand people, never knowing who they are. When you pass that police officer with someone pulled over, think “course correction”. Remember that this is not the cop being mean he is simply doing his divine duty, offering them a chance to change their course. His intervention might even save their life down the road. What is the course correction you need to take? Or will you wait for that divine appointment when I walk up and ask you for your license?