Missing the Obvious - A Cop's Perspective

Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Jesus

“Cops don’t look up.” At least that is a rumor among thieves and drug dealers sharing tips on how to hide contraband. Concealing evidence is as much of an art as the skills to conduct a search to find it. It’s like watching a magic show; there is always a slight of hand, you just have to know where to look. There can be nothing more maddening then to know that evidence is hidden right in front of you, but you can’t figure out where it is. The Easter Bunny has nothing on a determined criminal!

One night I was part of a surveillance team watching a guy dealing drugs from the front porch of a house. We witnessed the suspect sell crack cocaine over the course of a few hours. He always went to the same corner of the porch to get to his stash of drugs prior to making a sale. Individual hits of crack cocaine are about the size of a small pearl and can be easily hidden in a small space.

After each sale, the surveillance team would call out the make, model and license plate of the buyer’s car. A police officer in a marked unit would conduct a traffic stop, arrest the buyer for possession and seize the drugs. Two hours after we began the operation, it was time to arrest the seller and find whatever stash he had left on the porch. Finding the drugs was my responsibility.

I looked everywhere and found…nothing. I looked up…zip. The third time, I was meticulous, looking in every space between the floor boards, digging in every flower pot, emptying bottles of beer and checking under the seat of a bicycle parked on the porch t…FAIL. Twenty minutes go by and my partners are calling on the radio asking for an update.

What was I missing?

Ok, deep breath…start over.

I stood in the middle of the porch and tried to look with fresh eyes. Then I saw the obvious, the bike had rims! Stuffed between the front tire and rim was a baggie holding individually wrapped “pearls” of cocaine! BINGO!

Now I am not suggesting that finding the stash of drugs is like finding the Kingdom of Heaven. I am suggesting that we can get caught up in looking so hard for something that is right in front of us. We miss the obvious. For example, I find it curious when people tell me they are Christians but don’t go to church. I ask what keeps them from plugging in to a fellowship of believers. Typical responses include: “I don’t support organized religion.” “I had a bad experience in Sunday School growing up.” “I worship God in my own way.” “I don’t have to go to church to be a true follower of Christ.” My conclusion, people get distracted by the differences of denominations, styles of worship or the "failings" of the Church and the people in it. They miss out on the blessing that comes from being part of a fellowship with the people who ARE the Kingdom of God.

We are created to be in relationships. God started with a marriage between Adam and Eve. He would create a nation through Abraham. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrived uniting the community of believers of all families, tribes and nations. The Kingdom of Heaven is right in front of you. God calls us to be part of it. You just have to stop looking so hard.

Matthew: 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”