A middle-aged man named Daniel was driving through the country when his car began to experience problems. He slowed down and steered the car off the two-lane road onto the dirt shoulder. Because he was in the country, cell service was not available. He gazed down the road and saw what he thought might be a sign by the side of the road. He put his hazard flashers on, locked the car, and started walking towards the sign. As he got closer, he was able to make out the sign – it said “City of Meville – 1 mile”. At a minimum, he hoped the city might have cell service to help him resolve his issues, so he picked up the pace and headed to the City of Mevillle.
About three quarters of the way, he saw a service station sign. The men felt maybe his luck was changing. The station was very small – it only had two gas pumps, but it did have a garage with an old car up on a lift. He didn’t see anyone in the garage, so he went inside the office. A man who looked a little older than Daniel was mopping the floor. “Hello”, Daniel uttered.
Without looking up, the man kept mopping and replied, “Hello. How can I help?”
“My car broke down about a mile from here. Do you have a service or tow truck to go take a look and see if you can fix it?”
The man stopped his mopping, stood straight up, and leaned the mop against the wall. He turned around and looked straight at Daniel. He arched his back to stretch out a bit, smiled, and reached out his hand. “I’m J.C. – we don’t have a tow truck, but we do have a service truck in the back. I can get my helper to go take a look at your car – He can fix pretty much anything.”
Daniel shook J.C.’s hand and said, “Thank, God. Does your helper have time now to go take a look?”
J.C.’s smile widened and said, “Well, since you’re thanking God, I’ll make sure my helper gets right to it. You know, I could use a bite to eat, and there’s a diner in town. If you’re willing to trust us, you can give my helper the keys, and he’ll go take care of your car. Why don’t you join me for a meal? You hungry?”
Daniel was stunned at the idea of giving the keys to his car to a stranger, but there was something very honest and trustworthy about J.C.’s demeanor. “I’m not sure about that – I don’t know you and your helper.”
“Well, let’s change that. I’ll tell you what, why don’t we just go ahead and head to the diner. When we get back, you can go with my helper and watch him do the work. However, if you’re in a hurry, I’ll give you my keys. You can hold them until my helper gets back. J.C. reached into his pocket and held them out.”
Daniel was again shocked by such a gesture. In the face of such kindness, he was now a little embarrassed by his lack of trust of this man. Still, though, he pulled out his keys and separated out the one to his car to J.C. – keeping the keys to his home and work. “That’s very generous of you, J.C. I don’t think I need your keys. I would really appreciate your helper taking a look. It’s a black SUV about a mile back up the road. He extended the key out to J.C.”
“I appreciate your trust. I didn’t catch your name.”
“Daniel”
“God is my judge. That’s a great name! Give me a minute.” J.C. took Daniel’s car key and went into the garage. Daniel could hear bits and pieces of the conversation between J.C. and the helper. J.C. came back into the office, grabbed his wallet and keys, and said with a smile, “He’s on it. I’m starving – let’s go.”
Daniel heard the service truck start up, but he couldn’t see the driver as it headed up the road to his car. He followed J.C. out of the office and watched him close the garage door and lock up the office. The two men got into J.C.’s truck and headed into town. J.C. asked Daniel, “What are you doing out here?”
Daniel’s head bowed a bit, and J.C. picked up on the change in his countenance. Quietly, he said, “I needed to take a drive. My life hasn’t been so great lately. I needed some time to think.” Daniel’s confession caught him off-guard. He’s just met this man, and he’s starting to spill his guts to him. Yet, there was something very comforting about being with J.C.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Daniel. You would be surprised how many people do the same thing you’re doing. Seems like we get a lot of people coming through Meville that aren’t very happy. Want to talk about it?”
Daniel looked out the window with no particular purpose, but he did not reply.
“Wow. There I go again – prying into another people’s business, and you don’t even know me. I can’t help myself. I hate seeing people suffer, so it’s in my nature to try to help. I hope I didn’t offend you.”
Again, Daniel found himself ashamed at his treatment of this very kind and generous man. “You didn’t offend me, J.C. – not at all. I truly appreciate your offer, but I’ve never been good at sharing my thoughts. Truthfully, I’m not even sure I know what I’m thinking or feeling.”
“I get that.” J.C. replied peacefully. “The diner is not far. I know the owners – they do a great job. They’ve always been so kind to me.”
The conversation stopped, and Daniel watched the countryside as they headed into town. He noticed the withered sign that said, “Welcome to Meville”. J.C. pulled into the diner’s parking lot. Stenciled in big letters on the window of the restaurant was “Mary & Martha’s”. The two men got out of the truck and J.C. opened the door for Daniel. The moment he walked in, Daniel was taken by the aroma of good food, and the place had a very homey feel to it. Two ladies came out of the kitchen, and they were both thrilled to see J.C. They each gave him a big hug, and J.C. returned the favor with a huge smile on his face.
“Mary and Martha, meet my new friend Daniel. His car broke down just outside of town. My helper is off working on his car, and we’re hungry!”
Hearing J.C. call Daniel his friend felt good. Before he could say anything to the ladies, they each gave him a big hug. While Martha went back into the kitchen, Mary escorted the two men to a booth. “My, he’s a handsome one.”
Daniel blushed and was tongue tied. “Mary, you’re embarrassing the man.” J.C. said with a chuckle. Daniel picked up the menu, but Mary pushed it back down. J.C. watched with a smile on his face as Mary said, “Honey, you don’t need that. Our special is the best thing we have today.”
Daniel’s face was frozen in wonder and could only mutter, “Uh….ok”. J.C. started laughing as Mary scurried towards the kitchen. “There’s no place like Mary and Martha’s, Daniel. Trust me when I tell you she knows what she’s talking about.”
A smile formed on Daniel’s face for the first time in a while. J.C.’s mobile phone rang, and it was his helper. He gave J.C. the diagnosis and told him it may take a couple of hours to fix the problem. J.C. relayed his conversation to Daniel and asked if his helper could get to work. Mary approached the booth with two plates, put them on the table in front of the men, winked at both of them and headed to serve other tables. The smell of the food was amazing, and, truthfully, Daniel wasn’t really in a hurry to go anywhere – he nodded with approval. J.C. told his helper to get started and to give him a call when his work was done. After ending the conversation on the phone, J.C. looked at the food with such joy. He then asked Daniel, “Is it ok if I pray for the meal?”
Daniel was not a religious man, and it had been a long time since he was asked to pray over a meal. However, he was so enjoying his time with J.C. and the diner, he once again nodded in approval. J.C. bowed his head and said out loud, “Father, I thank you for bringing to me my new friend, Daniel. I ask that you bless this food to our bodies as well as bless our time together. May he come to know the love you have for him is the same as the love you have for me. Amen.”
Those words moved Daniel to his core. He couldn’t pick up his head. He had never heard someone share such an intimate prayer with his God. He didn’t know much about God, but the idea that God loved him was completely foreign. This was especially true given the current state of his life. Those words kept traveling back and forth from his head to his heart, and he couldn’t stop them.
“You ok?” J.C. asked with a concerned look on his face.
Daniel slowly lifted his head, and his eyes were moist. Something had happened during J.C.’s prayer, but he was struggling to understand what that “something” was.
J.C. again picked up on his countenance and said after finishing his first fork-full of Martha’s heavenly cooking, “Daniel, you look a lot like our city’s sheriff. Funny thing, too, is lately he has been pretty down as well. We’re a small town, but he’s got a tough job enforcing the law. He’s a real stickler. I like rules as much as the next person, but the sheriff administers them in such a way that everybody is afraid of him. He doesn’t have many friends. That’s sad because I have spent some time with him, and he’s a very nice and kind of funny man when he’s around me.” J.C. suddenly stopped and said, “I’m doing all the talking. What do you do for a living?”
Although Daniel was thoroughly enjoying his meal, he had been listening intently to J.C.’s description of the sheriff. The reason he was so taken by J.C.’s words was because he, himself, was a cop. He swallowed his bite and said, “I can identify with the sheriff. I’m a cop, too. I’m big on keeping the law, as well.”
“Well what to you know?” J.C. said with some wonder in his voice. “Hey, we’re almost done here, and it’s going to be more than an hour before my helper finishes his work. Want to join me and go meet the sheriff. He works just down the street at City Hall. I’ll bet the two of you can talk the same language and share some stories. What do you think?”
Daniel was full and didn’t have anything else to do. Besides, he was enjoying J.C.’s company, so why not extend it? “Sure. I’d like that.” Mary brought the bill to the booth – J.C. snatched it out of her hands. Reaching out to J.C., “Please, let me pay for this – you’ve shown me such kindness.” Daniel said with real sincerity.
“Nope. This is my treat. Good company and good food. That’s an easy thing to pay for.” J.C. looked up at Mary and told her to put it on his tab. “Daniel smirked as he said, “You must come here often to have a tab.” Both J.C. and Mary laughed out loud, and J.C. said, “Mary and Martha always make me feel at home here. They’re always so good to me.” Daniel thanked Mary and Martha for the food and J.C. for paying for it. The two men left the restaurant and headed towards City Hall.
Daniel noticed there wasn’t very many people on the streets, and he thought he heard J.C. saying under his breath, “They’re all afraid.” The few people that they did see all waved at J.C., and he replied to every one of them with a smile and a wave of his own. When they arrived at City Hall, every person in the building seemed to know J.C. Each one of them greeted him, and he kindly returned the greeting. They headed towards the sheriff’s office when one person came up and said, “If you’re looking for the Judge, he’s in the jail section.” J.C. bowed his head in frustration, thanked the person for the advice, and changed his course towards the jail.
“Who is the Judge?” Daniel asked.
“That’s the sheriff – it’s a name he’s given himself. He is such a stickler for the law, and he keeps putting people in jail for the most minor infractions. Because so many end up incarcerated because of his attitude, they’ve adopted the name “Judge” for him. I’ve come down here too many times, and the jail is overflowing with people the Judge has arrested. People are afraid to do almost anything out of fear of the Judge citing the most remote law to convict someone. I’ve often wondered if some of these laws are simply the way the Judge thinks things should be. There are too many people living in fear in this town.”
Daniel was conflicted. He appreciated Judge’s adherence to the law, but J.C.’s words were ringing true to him. He thought to himself if he sometimes treated people too much according to the law. Before he could continue that thought, J.C. opened the door to the jail cell area, and the two men entered the area.
Daniel noticed the number of cells seemed like a lot for a small town. However, they looked like they were all empty. J.C. stopped, put his hand on Daniel’s shoulders, and told him to listen. A faint noise seemed to be coming from the end of the cell area. The two men attempted to listen more attentively, and they both recognized the sound was a man sobbing. J.C. and Daniel slowly walked down the row of cells to find the Judge with his head in his hands sitting in a locked cell. He seemed inconsolable.
J.C. moved his face up to the bars and asked, “Why are you locked in one of your own cells?” The Judge looked up and saw that it was J.C. He stood up and moved towards him – with the tears flowing even heavier. “Oh, J.C., my life is a mess. No one likes me, and I spend so much time judging them that I can’t find it in me to like them. My wife and children have stayed with me, but they’re not happy. I’m so busy doing my job the best way I know how, I don’t’ have much time for them. Yet, when I do spend time with them, I take on my role as the sheriff and judge with them. There’s not much love in our home, and I know I’m the problem. I was cleaning the jail cells, and somehow I locked myself inside my own prison.”
J.C. didn’t say a word. He turned his head and saw Daniel dropping to his knees in tears. He looked at Judge and not only saw the physical resemblance, but what Judge described was exactly what was happening to Daniel and his life. His ways of judgment had alienated him from any meaningful relationships and robbed him of any joy in his life. J.C. looked at the two men and even though only one of them was in prison, they might as well have both been in there.
With a compassionate look on his face, he looked at Judge and said, “We need to get you out of this prison. However, first things first, you’re going to give up that nickname “Judge” and use your real name – “Christian”. Every time you use your nickname, it’s like telling yourself that is who you are. I know you, Christian, and you are a man of great value and kindness with an extraordinary capacity to love. How about you let me handle the judgment for now?”
“I would love that!” But those words didn’t come from Christian – they came from Daniel. J.C. and Christian looked at Daniel, and then all three of them burst out laughing. J.C. introduced the two men to each other. They shook hands and immediately recognized they had a mysterious bond with each other. “I thought you two would understand each other.” J.C. said with a smile. “Now, let’s get you out of this prison. J.C. reached into his pocket and pulled a large key. He unlocked the door, and Christian gave J.C. a big hug. During the hug, J.C. dropped the key, and Daniel picked it up. He saw something written on the key. He looked closer and saw that the word “GRACE”. Daniel handed the key to J.C., and when he reached out to take the key, Daniel saw a scar on his hand. He looked up at J.C. in amazement, and J.C. lovingly looked at Daniel and said, “That’s my key, and it works for every cell – no exceptions.”
As J.C. was leading them out of the jail area, Daniel felt a lightening of the burden he had been carrying. The three of them headed towards the front doors of City Hall, and Daniel caught out of the corner of his eye a picture of J.C. hanging on the wall. Under his picture, he saw the title “Optional Mayor”. Daniel asked J.C., “What does “Optional Mayor” mean?” J.C. looked at him and said, “I’m ready to lead each person in Meville, but they have to choose to make me their leader. It’s an elected position. Unfortunately, not everyone wants me to be their mayor. I’m hoping one day they will all make that choice. Then I can change the name of this town to something more my style – “Kingdom.”
“If I lived here, you’d get my vote.” Daniel said with a loving smile.
“You should think of relocating, Daniel. I would love to have you become a part of my town. Until then, the next time you feel tempted to judge others, remember your name and my key. With God as your judge, He holds the key of grace.”