A Second Chance

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
-Romans 3:23 (NIV)

THE aircraft carrier on which I serve recently crossed the International Date Line, which is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Traveling east across the date line, we moved the clocks ahead one hour and stepped back one day. In effect, we got to live an entire day over again. For those of us six months into a military deployment, it can feel exasperating to wake up and see that it's Tuesday - again! But I chose to look on the bright side: at least I could use this "second" Tuesday to avoid the mistakes I had made on the previous one.

How many of us wish we had the chance to go back in time and live some portion of our life over again, to be given a second chance? While we may not get to travel through time, we do have a second chance, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus was willing to lay down his life, we are now able to find forgiveness, to put our sins behind us, and to move ahead, knowing that God will not hold our past mistakes against us. Because of this, we have the ability to wake up each day unburdened, striving anew to live our lives according to God's purpose.


Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us remember that it's never too late to turn away from sin and toward you. We humbly ask for your forgiveness so that we may embrace the future with its opportunities to grow closer to you. Amen.


From: UpperRoom Devotionals - Will Moynahan