Would you plead guilty for something you didn’t do? We received a letter from the city court of the city east from us. It informed us that we had a delinquent parking violation issued to a vehicle registered to our name.
We knew our daughter received a parking ticket and we were there when she attempted to pay the fine. Of course, it didn’t work out the way she thought. There was no drop-off box outside of the city hall so she said she would take care of it the next day. That didn’t happen, so the fine increased.
It’s been over a month and she hasn’t taken care of it. Hence the letter and the fee increase. We confirmed that it was still delinquent and so Scott said we should take care of it online. Our daughter said she would take care of it if we gave her the link because she went to the website but couldn’t find the page to pay online.
Yes, the website was a government site that had lots of menu selections and if I was in a hurry, I would have given up looking. I had to do a ‘search’ for the page. When I did find the page, it notified me that to pay online, I must plead guilty.
We did not violate any parking rules. If we did, we would have paid the fee when it was only single digits. The vehicle that our daughter drove at the time of the violation was registered in our name and so, we are responsible for the car.
When we lived on the West Coast, showing up in court reduced the fine which was usual in the hundreds. But the convenience of paying online is worth the hassle of driving across the county and finding downtown parking in an unfamiliar city.
Maybe we should have let our daughter continue to take care of the fine herself, but she does not have checks or credit cards so having to go back to the city hall is very inconvenient. She did say she would pay us back.
Jesus wasn’t guilty of sin but He took our debt and paid for it with His life. Having a loving Heavenly Father helps us to be patient with our own kids.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for being such a wonderful parent. We don’t deserve Your love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Help us to show Your love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace to those You bring into our lives so that they know we are Your children.
In Your Son’s precious name, Amen.
Verses
Colossians 3: 21 Fathers, don’t provoke your children so they won’t become disheartened
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, don’t provoke your children to anger
Colossians 2:14 God canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross
1 Peter 2:24 Jesus personally carried our sins in His body on the cross
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin
Ephesians 1:7 In Christ we have redemption through His blood
Romans 13:7 Pay everyone what is owed
Song
“Death Was Arrested” by North Point Worship was chosen among a list of hymns that were a bit too slow or high for me. I was going to choose a song by Lauren Daigle but it was already mentioned in a previous post. Can you guess which song?
Call to action
If you have already prayed, looked up the verses in your Bible, and listened to the suggested song, then share your favorite song about what God has done for you.