Quick, quick! We must hurry up; our train will be here in two minutes. The only problem is that the person accompanying me has not bought her transportation ticket yet and the ticket machine still doesn’t work despite countless attempts of purchase. The problem is that we have to take this train to avoid getting swamp by the immense crowd surrounding Paris downtown during rush hours.
We have to go ahead anyway, but before we leave we have to quickly find a solution in case we are getting controlled, although I think it will not happen because I have hardly seen any control for the last 5 years that I have been travelling on this itinerary. My friend decides to take a picture of the screen of the (defect) $%@! machine that proudly displays “Out of order”. After that, we quickly run to the platform and jump in the train that arrives on the track almost at the same time as we do. Pfew! That was a close one! Ten minutes later we arrive at our destination. We can barely move in the midst of a compact crowd, and some people rudely cut through the line to get ahead. However, there is an unusual traffic, so I am tip toeing and lift up my head to see what’s going on and I notice that some controllers are standing at a few feet ahead of us! Oups! Apparently I spoke too fast. After a short wait, we finally arrive where they are standing and we are welcomed by a nice young lady. My friend, confident that the problem will easily be fixed tells the young lady about her issue with ticket machine, shows her the picture of the broken machine she took as proof that it was out of order at the departure train station. Unfortunately, the verdict is irrevocable, despite her good faith. She must immediately and mandatorily pay a fine of “the modest” sum of 50 Euros for violating the rules (involuntarily), even if she files a claim against the railroad company afterwards. I was so not expecting to hear such an absurdity that I unwillingly bursted into tears, telling the control agent what prejudice this decision represents, considering that she should not make her pay for a fault hat is in fact her employer’s. Obviously confused and moved, she is trying her best to give me all sorts of explanations, including the possibility of reimbursement of the fine payable within ten days of contacting the customers’ service. I allow myself to argue that she is not aware of her current financial state and that none of her explanations will comfort me from what I consider a profound injustice. I finally decide to pay this fine by card to help my friend who at the time was unemployed. Thereafter the young lady gives me a receipt and we leave the premises on that note.
My friend is visibly troubled and discouraged by what just occured and confesses to me that she doesn’t know how to pray anymore to avoid these types of unnecessary disagreements, which very often happen to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, while already dealing with all sorts of trials and tribulations. I answer her with teary eyes saying: ”I don’t know either, but one thing I know is that the enemy of our souls, also called satan will always try to push us to deny God or to destroy our testimony concerning the faithfulness of the One who is Our Father and who takes care of us, but we must resist him with a firm faith” [1] As a matter of fact, a few seconds before this incident, I was happy to tell this person a wonderful story I heard about the day before, about the realness of divine justice [2]. To learn that we have a right to ask God to do us justice in our circumstances without sinning against our adverse party was an unbelievable discovery for me, and now this unfortunate event happens, aiming to make me regret my encouraging words and destroy my hope. Yet that day, I chose to reaffirm my convictions despite the fact that the very opposite just happened under our eyes [3].
Once we get home, I immediately write a letter to the customer service of the railroad company to fix this incident we were victims of, that is in fact caused by them. I am expecting an immediate answer from them, but days are passing by and I still haven’t heard from them. Two weeks later, I finally receive a message telling me about the process to follow in order to file a claim for reimbursement and how to prove that the deadline for reimbursement we were told about could not be respected.
Also, I regularly check my bank account and find it awkward that the money paid for the fine has still not been taken. Guess what? Until this very day, at the moment where I am writing this post, the money has still not been taken from my account! It looks like my payment simply disappeared in thin air because ever since, I have not seen a single trace of withdrawal from my account from this company!
With a smile on my face, I now think of the Scripture in the Bible that talks about Jesus-Christ saying that: “He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross.” [4]. This Scripture obviously talks about the much greater act of salvation in Christ Jesus, whom through crucifixion no longer considers the sins of those who believe in his resurrection [5] and declare from their mouth that He is Lord [6] , but I am convinced that His work is as powerful in all areas of the life of a believer. This story is one of those illustrations and very much proves it.
I screamed and cried before my Lord in regards to this situation of injustice, although it might seem insignificant in the eyes of men, and He answered above and beyond my expectations.
As he was sharing an example in one of His parables about a mean judge that ended up doing justice to a woman only because she was bothering him, Jesus Himself concluded by saying: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” [7]. In other words and precisely in this context, are you still confident that He desires to fix the damages/ injustice caused to you? “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!.” [8].
Explanatory notes (click on the underlined texts) :
[1] John 10:10 / 1 Peter 5:8-9
[2] John Paul Jackson: “Dreams and Mysteries of Justice”
[3] John 20:29
[6] Romans 10:9-11
[7] Luke 18:7-8
[8] Isaiah 30:18
Translated by : Nathalie Michèle Biwole, M.A. - Translator/Court Interpreter - Software Localizer/Terminologist - French - English - German - Spanish