Second Chances

This week I spent some time thinking about second chances. I think all of us would like to have a few “do-overs” and go back and correct a mistake or an error in judgment. Because I am a golfer, it reminds me of the golf term, “mulligans”. In the game of golf, a mulligan will give you an immediate opportunity to re-hit an errant shot in the hope of a better outcome. If you readjust and do things correctly, then the results are usually a better shot. However, if you repeat the same swing, you will often get a similar bad result.

As I reflect on what Christ has done for me in my life, I am thankful for the second chances he has given me. When we read the Bible we see the second chances He gave to some of the greatest leaders and teachers in the Bible. They were people that made a mess of their lives just like we all do at times. Some of them made some major mistakes, while others just simply disobeyed God. King David, Moses and the prophet Jonah were chosen by God to do some great things, but without the second chances that God extended to each of them they would not have become the great people we read about in the Bible.

Aren’t we thankful that God loves us and is patient? He could have wiped any one of these people of the face of the earth and found a replacement. But He didn’t, and after each one of them began to show remorse and repentance, God extended love and forgiveness. In time each one was restored to the plan that God had for their lives and they continued in God’s work. It’s difficult for us to imagine that God will forgive us for some of the things that we have done in our lives. But He forgave these great Bible leaders and He will forgive you and me when we come humbly to Him and seek forgiveness.

Jesus Christ gave each one of us a second chance when He died on the cross. That second chance will last until we die, and then there will be no more second chances. God is good and He is patient, but our time on earth will eventually run out. My prayer is that if you are at a point in your life that you think that you have made too many mistakes, or done something to bad for God to care, that you will remember these people from the Bible. God’s grace is big enough for all of us and all of our failures, and He wants to give you a second chance to live eternally with Him. Don’t wait to take advantage of the second chance that Christ died for, this is a limited time offer and we don’t know how much time each one of us has. Hebrews 9:27-28 reads, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

In Christ,

Greg

Romans 3:23-24