They said it when I started 25 years ago. I hear myself say it more and more. “Police work is changing, it's just not the same anymore.”

Probable cause for the car stop was a burned out license plate light. It turned into a pursuit, reaching speeds of 50 mph at times. (See what I mean? It's just not the same anymore.) The pursuit traveled through five cities and two counties and involved five police cars and two helicopters. Halfway through the pursuit, the driver called the dispatcher on his mobile phone to explain his reason for not stopping... he was embarrassed about the way he was dressed.

When he did stop, he chose a shopping center parking lot. The store crowds emptied out, drawn by the blue light, parking lot special. Maybe the driver was intentionally drawing a crowd, his own witness protection program against police brutality. Or, maybe he was counting on them for cover in a quick game of hide and seek. What he probably didn't count on was the pointing fingers and hearty laughs as he stepped from his car in a black sequined evening dress.

His choices changed the consequences. An embarrassing, but inexpensive, fix-it ticket turned into an expensive, humiliating night in jail. I'm sure the reception he received from jail inmates was above and beyond anything the shopping center crowd could offer. And, he will probably wake from recurring nightmares, being chased into crowds, not naked, but "dressed." But, as painful as all this will be, it will come to an end. Bail and fines will be paid. The dress will be cleaned. Everyone, but the driver, will eventually forget the whole thing. Things will change.

Changes are not limited to police work. Our world is not the same as when we started. But one thing remains unchanged. God and His plan. It is based on His unconditional love, directed at you and me, and costs Him more than we could ever pay. We are just like the man in the car, improperly dressed and on the run. Our plan, whatever it is, will terminate just like his, shamefully and costly.

There is a common ground of respect among law enforcement everywhere, the truth. If the man in the car had stopped, admitting the truth, the consequences would have been much simpler. If you and I will simply stop, admit we are hopelessly wrong, and trust God for what He has done, then the consequences would be different.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life... He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already..." John 3:16, 18.

Is your slip showing?
 

"...with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17