Ever Try and Go Through Life on E-ZPass?

Many of you can relate to this story. Some of you more than others. But, I have discovered that you can't get very far in life trying to get by on E-ZPass.

E-ZPass has been implemented on many of our nation's toll road systems as a way to eliminate the human element of tollbooth attendants and to help the frequent traveler get to their intended destination without having to stop. Just put that token on your windshield and you can whisk your way from one place to another with nary a care in the world.

Well for those of us who are not the frequent tollroad traveler it can be confusing when negotiating the system. Case in point, several weeks ago my husband, daughter and I were traveling the PA Turnpike over near Philadelphia. We planned on a stop at the IKEA store to do a bit of apartment shopping for my daughter. We exited the NorthEast extension and never came across a tollbooth. Thinking this odd we questioned what had gone wrong but then giggled in delight that we had perhaps outsmarted the turnpike system and saved a little over $3.00 in tolls.

Fast forward three weeks. When heading up to bed, I noted an envelope on the table addressed to me. In it was a photo similar to the one at the top of this page. It was a bill for over $45.00 for failing to stop at the tollbooth and not having an E-ZPass. So much for the delight. We certainly had not outsmarted the system.

This whole episode got me thinking about my life. And this is where the relating thing comes in. Have you ever thought you were outsmarting God? Like you could go through life without paying the "toll". "No one will ever know." "I can get by with this and not get caught." Ever had thoughts like that?

Isaiah 29:15-16 "Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
"Who sees us? Who will know?"
You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,
"He did not make me"?
Can the pot say of the potter,
"He knows nothing"?

How foolish we are to think that the all-knowing, all-seeing, ever present creator of the universe would not know every thought and intent of our hearts as well as every action we have either done or contemplated. Just as we discovered with our little turnpike illustration - the price will be paid.

We can rejoice that God loves us despite our failure to consider the cost. He loves us with an everlasting love. His grace is poured out upon us day after day. His mercy is new every morning. But, we ought not to ever think that we can skate by without thinking that He knows. We need to live with the knowledge that whether we like it or not all of our decisions come with consequences, good or bad.

My prayer is that I will not try and outsmart God. What a foolish jesture. And the bill is way too high to pay.