Over the next few days I would like to tell you about a good friend of mine.  A man who made it much easier for me to be a successful Police Officer and how to maintain my relationship with God during trying times on the job.

Jack was the only professing born again Christian on the department when I joined.  That was important to me for two reasons, first he was a good role model and I could ask him questions or bounce things off him that other officers would not understand; the second reason was actually more important.  Jack had broken the ice and had taken a lot of abuse as a Christian within the department.  Several of the officers said they and others had tried to get Jack to cuss, drink, or somehow relax his beliefs.  If asked, they would have said it wasn’t done maliciously; it was just part of the way police officers think and test their fellow officers and it became a game to them.   Who would be the one to break Jack?  What they just didn’t understand for many months, was Christianity and those values were the core of Jack’s being, to test him this way was as vicious as having a prostitute test the faithfulness of a husband, that would have been fiercely criticized.   Of course, most Christians go through these tests all their lives, it comes with standing up for Christ; but from what I was hearing they were pretty rough on Jack.

Because Jack had never cracked and had kept his humor and his standards, it was much easier for me.  They saw that a Christian could be a good officer so I did not incur the same intensity of their testing.  I am not sure I could have endured all he had; he is a much stronger person in the faith than I have ever been.

As in most professions, the real learning does not take place until the work is experienced.   However, experience is not always the best teacher, especially if it is not paired with training.   I had been a reserve officer, so I had some experience with law enforcement.  I was on the street relatively early because of that time as a reserve.  Back then we learned by experience.  To be sure, we were watched over, but when I was placed in a patrol car, by myself to handle calls, make traffic stops, etc. I was not as prepared for the work as I should have been – or thought I was.  I received minimal training as a reserve; it was mainly just riding, observing, listening to the stories of the regular officer and learning by osmosis.  There were some officers that taught during the dead time, but most of the time a reserve rides it is busy and there isn’t time to explain things.  Often the officer, who is use to being alone in a Patrol car and not having anyone to talk to, uses the time to talk about things other than police work and without really doing any training.  So was the case with me.

I was in a car early, because they had little choice.  The department was in transition and many experienced officers had, and were, leaving the department.  Some on their own and others were dismissed.  The department needed eyes on the street and positions filled.  To accomplish that goal I was given the keys to the patrol car, given my assigned area and told to “patrol your area and stay out of trouble.”

I was thankful to Sarge for the “Key Notes.”  But I knew it wasn’t enough.  I needed more and fortunately, the academy date was only a couple months away.  Putting a gun on the hip of an untrained person and putting them in a patrol car is rarely done today, but it was frequently done back then, not only in our department but also in almost every small department in the nation.  Officers were not as closely scrutinized back then, things were simpler and most of us had common sense; at least enough to try and stay out of trouble and wait for a more experienced officer before getting into something that might be serious.  When we could.

The experience of being on the street did help me when I went to the academy.  I could relate to the classes easier than those who had been sent directly to the academy after hiring.  I could see where I had made mistakes and it was early enough in my career that I had not yet gotten into habits that were too dangerous.  The training I received was critical however; the learning really began when I went back to the department and back on patrol.  Applying the training and seeing how we did some things differently developed me as an officer.

I still could ask questions of my assigned training officer and the sergeant, but often times they were not available.  When I did ride with them I would hear things like, “you can’t trust anyone but a police officer, they are the only ones that will watch your back;”  “most citizens don’t care about police officers and hate us;”  “your only friend is another policeman, forget about friends you use to have, they will desert you.”   There are many reasons police officers get into the mindset of us vs. the rest of the world.  I did not want to get into that mind set.

More tomorrow.

Mark 6:54-56 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,

⁵⁵ And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.

⁵⁶ And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

What an exciting time for those that recognized Jesus.  They knew that now their friends and relatives would be healed.  They ran about and gathered all they could to bring to Him.

Everywhere He went miracles happened, all who believed and came to Him received His healing.  Age didn’t matter; man or woman, boy or girl didn’t matter; rich or poor; how sick or infirmed didn’t matter – all who recognized and came to Him were healed.

Incredible Joy must have abounded within these people.  Men and women who were sick or crippled from birth were made whole; people could see the results of Christ’s touch and clamored for it.

Jesus taught and the miracles were often used to reinforce His message.

Luke 5:24-26 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

While they did not have the internet, radio or tv to tell about Jesus, they had the word of mouth and stories His teachings and miracles proceeded Him wherever He would travel.

He couldn’t get away from the throngs of people, as soon as they saw Him they ran toward Him, they gathered their sick and afflicted friends and relatives and brought them to Him.

Yet, they seemed to forget as if these things never occurred, they lived with the results of His miracles but for some reason could not remember what His message was, and they forgot His miracle creating abilities.

Even the disciples, who traveled with Him everywhere, heard His message and saw what must have been thousands of miracles failed to accept who He was for a long time.

Mark 6:24-26 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

⁵² For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

How many times have we criticized, at least in thought if not speech, the Jews for failing to serve God.  The Old Testament is full of stories of God’s miracles and the failure of the Jewish people to worship and give Him His rightful place in their lives.  They quickly forgot their freedom from Egypt, they quickly forgot the parting of the sea, the food given to them on a daily basis, the strength of their clothing that did not wear out for 40 years and we know the list goes on; they turned from God to their own ways.

We shake our heads in wonder that He would even be crucified after all the miracles He performed as proof of who He was – where were these peoples’ heads, how in the world did they not accept Him with all the evidence before them, evidence they themselves had seen and experienced firsthand?!

But we really are no better.  We have experienced the Joy we felt as we confessed our sins and received His sacrifice.  We know that we are saved because of Jesus’ death of the cross.  We read how He impacted the people around Him, the miracles He performed and know the truth of the Word because the Holy Spirit brings it to our heart and mind.

We read of the miracles and the thousands of people that came forward and accepted Christ’s sacrifice.  We read of how those that believed in Him, lived and died that His message would be proclaimed.  Many performed miracles in Jesus’ name, healings and other signs of divine intervention in men’s lives followed them.

Yet, we forget.  We fail to acknowledge that Christ is able to take care of all our needs and help us through all our situations, no matter what they may be.  Instead of going to Him first we try to rectify our problems ourselves, leaning onto what we know and forgetting that we can come to Him.

It is never too late in the course of any event, to stop and call upon Him.  But, it is far better to get into the habit of seeking Him FIRST – it is amazing how much grief we can alleviate in our lives if we but learn to do that.

Later,  

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again