We worship God of second chances

What a relief it is to know that we worship the God of second chances! We all stumble, make mistakes and inevitably beg our Creator for yet another chance and God freely provides it to us.

Jesus Christ advocated giving people second chances, third chances or as many as required when He taught forgiveness: Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? "Up to seven times," Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22).

If you forgive someone you cannot keep a record and thus each instance of forgiveness offers a fresh start. We are all prone to sin, but thankfully, God's desire to forgive us exceeds our ability to sin.

Moses, one of the most effective people in the Bible, received many such chances from God. His account recorded in the book of Exodus is a constant source of hope. Fearing the anger of the Egyptian king, Moses escaped to Midian.

He became a shepherd, married, and started a family. He had escaped "settling" for his present life. But God gave Moses a second chance. He ignored the fact that Moses had failed before.

He didn't care about Moses' low self-esteem or speech disability. God had a job for Moses to do and he was going to provide him with as many chances as needed.

Often second chances actually seem to reinforce destructive behaviour as Proverbs 19:19 reveals: "A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again." God believes in second chances, but we can miss out on these opportunities unless we respond with repentance.

Let us receive the grace of God's forgiveness with gratitude and accept His help in changing our course of life where needed.

Source: The Sunday Guardian ( http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/we-worship-god-of-second-chances )

Note: Rev. Dr. Richard Howell is the General Secretary of Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).