In those days you were living apart from
Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel,
and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You
lived in this world without God and without hope.
Through the years I have met a lot of people who needed
second chances. But I have also found that I was one of those
people. I’ve messed up. I’ve forgotten things. I’ve missed
the deadline. I’ve not met the standards. But God used a different
set of measure than I thought I deserved.
God gave me a second chance. No, I didn’t kill
someone. No, I didn’t get drunk numerous times. I simply missed the
mark God set. Yet the mark God set was met by what God did. He gave
Jesus. He gave me hope when I didn’t have any hope.
Second chances or do overs happen often on God’s
timetable. It is not about doing what we want so we can get more of God’s
grace (see Romans 6). It is about realizing that we have the opportunity
to live a different way totally based on what God has done for us.
My past doesn’t define me. My actions haven’t tied
me up forever. I have hope. God promised freedom. God
promised healing. God promised life when I have not experienced the kind
of life that He destined me for.
Those do overs have to do with exchanging our way of
thinking for God’s way of thinking. They have to do with believing the
best and choosing the best. The best is based on God’s treasure list and
not ours. Living a part from God we will miss the freedom, healing and
life that God wants to give us.
That is where the second chances come in. Accept
them. Give them to others. Be living proof that do overs are the
grace of God. You are a conduit of second chances.
Romans 5:6 NLT
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at
just the right time and died for us sinners.
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