Second Chances

What if God gave no second chances? What if our relationship with Him depended upon our ability to avoid displeasing and disappointing Him? What if He cast us aside once we made a bad decision or behaved in some way contrary to His expectations? Without God's grace, we have no hope!

What happens to the person who cannot reflect God's grace in his or her own relationship with others? The person who gives no second chances lives in direct opposition to God's will. In Matthew 18, Jesus illustrated how we are to be gracious to others, just as God is gracious toward us. The slave who had been given a second chance by his master was impudent in his response to someone who had wronged him, and he allowed no second chance. His lord confronted him: "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?" Jesus continued, "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

What is the torture that besets the person who will give no second chance? Guilt, perhaps. For he or she knows the attitude is wrong. Defensiveness, because the guilt must be balanced with some kind of logic that justifies the sin. Hardness, maybe, because the inability to trust others creates an insecurity that must be protected. Isolation, probably. For no one is beyond the judgment of someone who gives no second chances.

Why does someone develop a "no second chance" attitude? A person might have been hurt by a loved one and had no way of restoring the relationship because of death or lack of cooperation. A person might fear his or her own inadequacies and be seeking affirmation by finding fault in others. A person might have felt rejected and be unable to give the grace to others because he or she has been denied it by someone else.

If God responded as does the person who give no second chances, the Bible would be full of holes. David would have no influence. Peter would have no ministry, and Israel would be long forgotten. If we refuse to give others second chances, we'll miss the blessing of people like James, John, Martha, and John Mark.

What are the results of an unforgiving spirit? Misery. The inability to be satisfied. Depression. Distance from God. But hope is available, because God IS gracious, and He give second chances even to those who do not. Many revivals have come about as the result of those who have decided to simply lay their attitudes at the foot of the cross.