A young man was stationed at a military installation which was located about a 20 hour non-stop drive from his home and family. One long Christmas weekend, he was homesick to be with his family. And even though his base commander had issued a rule which prohibited him from traveling over 150 miles from his base, he decided he could leave when he got off duty Thursday afternoon, drive his old car hard, and still be back early Monday morning in time for bunk check. He wanted to take a special gift to Mama.
After about eight hours of driving, the old Ford began to quiver and quake, but the dream of being home for Christmas was enough motivation to try and keep going. The car chugged along, but finally stopped about 50 miles from the home destination. After standing on the side of the road in the middle of night for a couple of hours, a Trailways Bus finally came by and picked him up and carried him into his hometown. The car had to be left where it stopped until the next morning. The next day it was determined that there were serious repairs that needed to be done, and the mechanic who could do this was off that weekend.
When the young man had to leave what little money he had with the family for car repairs, he decided that he had best turn right around and hitchhike back to his base. He left Mama a nicely wrapped sweater, and received the new pair of warm socks and hit the road. It was at a time when people would pick up a man in uniform and give him a ride as far as the driver was going. One driver gave him a long ride into the next state, and when it was time for the driver to turn a different direction, he let the young man out on the highway entering a small town. It was around 3:00 AM and the town was completely quiet.
The young man decided it would be best to walk through the town with hopes of finding a ride going his way out on the other side of town. Near the middle of town, the local policeman pulled up to him in his cruise car and said: "Hey buddy, where you headed?" "I'm heading back to my base, but I'm not sure I'll have enough time to get there." He told the policeman how he had made a big mistake and just needed to get back to his base before muster on Monday morning.
The friendly police officer invited the young man to his little small town office and gave him some coffee, and told about his own days in the Corps. He called his wife and said, "Honey, I know it's early, but since it's Christmas morning, and the kids will be up soon anyway, do you mind if I bring a young Marine home to have breakfast with us?" This wasn't the first time she had heard something like this, so the good wife joyfully welcomed the young man to their home.
The kind and understanding police officer called one of his part-time deputies, and they worked out a plan to drive the young man the rest of the 200 miles back to his base so he wouldn't suffer trouble. It turned out to be one of those times that remained emblazoned in the young man's mind. He would later do similar good deeds for many other people because of the kindness he had received that cold Christmas morning. He know that things could have gone much differently for him if the police officer had not acted with compassion and understanding.
We should all be very thankful that there are police officers who will be up in the middle of the night when we are sleeping. There job is to ensure peace and tranquility so that we may live a healthy and prosperous life. This rule of order is ordained by God.
The Apostle Peter wrote: "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." (1 Peter 2:13-17 NIV)
You are invited to attend the services of the Church of Christ at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. Write me with any questions or comments David Binkley, P.O. Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or E-mail at dgbinkley@aol.com. Or you may also request to receive the daily WORD OF THE DAY by e-mail. Check out our web site at www.cedarkeychurchofchrist.com. | 