Confessions of a rule-breaker

My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.  –Psalm 71:15

It struck me as I read these words that I will never fathom the vastness of God's goodness and His salvation. He honors my belief, redeems me, and gives me a story to tell - even in my imperfect understanding….
 
I run red lights. Not always. Not even usually. But if I roll up on a red light and I'm the only vehicle in sight, I give it what I consider a reasonable amount of time to change, then I drive away. My wife is waiting for the day I get a ticket for this. I maintain that the traffic signal is there to serve me, not the other way around. Its purpose is to control the flow of traffic and keep drivers and pedestrians safe. Having seen that mission accomplished, I should be free to move on, right? I have not tested this explanation in traffic court, though with cameras monitoring so many intersections these days, I’m sure I will eventually get that opportunity.

I'm a rule-breaker at heart. I don't mind obeying a rule if I see the purpose behind it, especially if there’s something in it for me. But I tend to pick and choose, or at least look for the loophole. Knowing I should do the right thing, wanting to be known as a good person, even fear of punishment, is not enough to make me behave. And I think that must come naturally, because I have seen it in my children. I am not at liberty to divulge the details of how I acquired the knowledge I'm about to share, but I have heard from reliable sources that it is possible to stand on top of the Massey Building in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, in the wee hours of the morning with a slight breeze at your back, and urinate on the lamp post at the corner of Central Avenue and 'A' Street.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?  –Jeremiah 17:9
 
In order to act in ways that are not self-serving, I need more than a “what”, more than a “how”, even more than a “why”. I need a “who”. My sinful heart tends toward selfishness, but the person of Jesus Christ motivates, no, compels me to do better. While I’m trying to do better, the power of His Spirit in me is making me be better.
 
So yeah – there’s a lot I don’t understand about the righteousness and salvation of God. How is it that I get to claim the perfect sinlessness of Christ through belief in His death, burial, and resurrection? How many layers of transformation does this salvation include? Why doesn’t God ever get tired of my rebellious weakness? None of this is about knowing or following the rules, but about knowing and following the Savior. The rules won’t get you there. He will.
 
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. –2 Corinthians 5:21