grace

second, second chances

Posted on by Grace Day

“Dodged a bullet” – that’s what they say when something bad or harmful or negative could have happened to you BUT – it didn’t. Therefore, you dodged a bullet. It’s a common enough expression, used often, probably because our days are filled with near misses or dodged bullets, even if we are unaware of just how many bullets miss us each day. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but I think not. If I truly recognize how many times I have been rescued, how many times I have been spared from some hurt or harm or danger or disaster – this knowledge should lead me to gratitude every time – gratitude to my Heavenly Father, who watches over me, whose mercies towards me never cease. After all,

“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:2-8)

This has been a week of particularly stormy spring weather here, complete with lightning, thunderstorms, heavy rains, high speed winds and even some tornado touchdowns one evening. We have been under weather advisories multiple evenings and I have found myself driving in some challenging conditions this week. I have definitely dodged a few bullets on the pothole filled roads this week, (post – “pitfalls and potholes”) resulting in multiple second chances for me and for my car.

BUT – in truth, is this me dodging bullets, due to my skill, dexterity, wisdom and wits? OR – is this me receiving God’s freely given, undeserved grace, mercy and protection over my daily life? I think we both know this is the latter and never the former. I am not a skilled bullet dodger in the least. But God is a skilled protector and a merciful giver of second, second chances. And I am the thankful recipient of all those second, second chances that His mercy and His protection give to me. My response? I definitely say with the psalmist –

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5)

My Heavenly Father “forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases” cancelling my debt and setting me free again and again. (just like the fellow in my previous post – “second chances”) I experience this on a daily basis, although some of my rescues are more dramatic than others and some of my cancelled debts are larger than others. Nonetheless, I want to be aware of and thankful for each and every one of my second, second chances, of every forgiven sin, every cancelled debt that I never could have paid myself.

Just this past week, I received yet another kind of second chance. It started with a medical test that required “more testing”, meaning – maybe something is wrong, let’s take a closer look. So in the interim between first and second tests, I lived with the possibility of this diagnosis being reality. When the second test revealed “nothing to see here, false alarm”, it was for me a new beginning, a clean slate. I was freed from the burden that this diagnosis would have entailed, a great weight was lifted from me, my debt was wiped away, there would be no “jail time” for me due to illness. I have been given yet another second chance.

Now that I have been set free, what will I do with my new-found freedom? Go back to my old life? Do what the guy in my previous post did when his debt was forgiven and he was set free? FYI – he was so grateful to have his debt forgiven, that his first act as a forgiven, free man was to go out and send to prison the first person he came across who owed him an inconsequentially small sum of money. (Matthew chapter 18 – the parable of the unmerciful servant) No, that is NOT how I want to live out my debt free, sins forgiven, bailed out of jail life.

Maybe I should think about sharing the good news that I have experienced with others, letting them know that they too can have second, second chances in this life. God is not stingy with His forgiveness, nor with His mercy and lovingkindness. In fact, in Psalms I read –

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:10-14)

It’s not that I have been getting better at dodging bullets, or that I have been dodging bullets at all. The truth is that God is being gracious to me and continues to give me undeserved, unearned second, second chances every day as I walk with Him. I want every second chance God gives me, to conform me a little closer to His image and to His will. So that the next time God forgives me for saying harsh words instead of kind words, His forgiveness will change me, so much so, that when given that next second chance – I will say the kind words He desires, instead of the harsh or hurtful words I might speak if left unchanged by His forgiveness and love.

However, I will allow God’s forgiveness to change me. I will not squander away the precious gift of second chances, (like the unmerciful servant) nor of second, second chances, nor of all the second chances God gives after that. Each second chance is a gift. I will thank my Heavenly Father for each and every one of them that He sends my way. And God gives me these second chances at just the right time. Just when I think I’ve messed up too bad to come back from whatever it is, I’m reminded of others who must have thought this very same thing. They believed that they too, had used up all their second chances with God.

There was the prodigal son, the disciple Peter and the thief hanging on the cross beside Jesus, to name a few. Each one of these had messed up big time with some really bad decisions. BUT – each one was rescued, forgiven, and restored to family, to their calling, and to eternal life respectively. The Good News of the Gospel – you and I are offered a second chance every day. I just have to humble myself, confess my failure and ask God for forgiveness. God is faithful to respond by giving me that second chance. Then I must be brave enough to accept the opportunity and face the challenge that a second chance always brings with it. In humility I pray King David’s prayer –

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. . . . Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. . . . Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. . . . Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalm 51:1-2, 7, 10 & 12)

Second, second chances – King David received them multiple times. And so did a most unlikely woman – the infamous woman caught in adultery. Her second chance encounter with Jesus was truly dramatic. She was called to account publicly, in front of a large crowd, by the religious leaders of the day. However, this situation intended for public humiliation of the woman and for catching Jesus in some legal misstep, didn’t unfold as the religious leaders had planned. Instead, it ended with the woman receiving a much needed second chance in life. Their law demanded that the woman be stoned to death for her crime of adultery. BUT – Jesus said to the crowd,

” ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ . . . At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’ ” (John 8:7-11)

This woman received her second chance – a clean slate, her past forgiven, her sin debt paid, no jail time, no more death penalty hanging over her head – she was free – free to go and live a new life, a life free from the bondage of sin! Talk about your second chances! Yours and mine, dear readers, our second chances are no less miraculous, no less life changing, no less undeserved, but just as earnestly desired and needed as was this woman’s.

Every second chance is a miracle. Every second chance is a gift from God.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for every second chance You give me. May I not waste a one of them!

sincerely, Grace Day

a curious connection

Posted on by Grace Day

Do you ever find yourself thinking random thoughts that don’t appear to be connected in any way and then later these thoughts connect themselves in curious ways that make perfect sense? – well at least to you, if not to anyone else. Such is often the case with me. Actually most of my thoughts are very random and unrelated, so when they connect themselves into something that reveals a new insight or a larger truth, it is always an exciting moment on my otherwise mundane journey of everyday random thoughts.

Such was the revelation my random thoughts revealed concerning the connection between the thief on the cross and the workers in the vineyard parable. You don’t see it? Well, I never did either, until now. You remember the workers in the vineyard parable, right? This was a story that never made sense to me. Actually, the outcome seemed obviously wrong because it appeared to me to be unfair to some of the workers involved. Let me explain or better yet, let Jesus tell you the story, just as He told it to His disciples –

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.” (Matthew 20:1-9)

Well, the story continues with all the workers getting paid a denarius, including those who were hired first and had worked a full day in the hot sun. Naturally they grumbled against the owner, because they felt this was unfair. The owner’s response?

“Friend I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:13-15)

So what does this have to do with the thief on the cross? You know, the one that was crucified on the cross right next to the one on which Jesus hung. Well, actually there were two men being crucified for their crimes that day along with Jesus, one on either side of Him. Their conversation in those final moments reveals everything about the condition of their hearts. Luke records for us that very eye-opening conversation which went as follows,

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: (Jesus) ‘Aren’t You the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.’ ” (Luke 23:39-42)

This is surely a surprising, even apparently non-sensical request for the criminal to make, considering that Jesus’s situation doesn’t appear to be any better than his own. They are both suffering the exact same fate at the moment, being crucified on crude wooden crosses while an angry and curious crowd of spectators watch and wait. Both are headed for identical outcomes of death, it would seem. And yet, this criminal dares to ask the impossible of Jesus, who at present, is hanging on a cross next to him. We can safely assume that this man has done more bad deeds than good ones in his life, but despite this, he cries out to Jesus with his last breath.

There can be only one reason why he would dare to do this, to make such a preposterous request. Unlike the criminal hanging on the other side of Jesus, who mocked and taunted Jesus with his last words, this thief believed Jesus to be exactly who He claimed to be. The only thing more unexpected and surprising than the criminal’s audacious death bed ask, is Jesus’s death bed answer to him.

“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’ ” (Luke 23:43)

Jesus’s answer is surprising on every level. First of all, Jesus states that He will be in paradise. How is that possible? And then to promise this criminal that he also will get to go to paradise after the life of crime that he has apparently lived? This is unbelievable. This is preposterous even! But it is also true! Jesus is who He has always claimed to be – the Word become flesh to dwell among us – the promised Messiah – the Christ – the Son of the Living God – the Savior of the world – the Lamb of God and Lord of all.

Because Jesus is exactly who He said He was, He is able to do the impossible, which is exactly what the criminal on the cross beside Jesus asked of Him that day – to do the impossible, the unbelievable; to grant him the unmerited, the undeserved – forgiveness, redemption and eternal life. That’s a really big ask. Especially when it is directed at someone who appears to be in no position to grant such a request at the moment. BUT things are not always as they appear to be. The thief on the cross next to Jesus had faith. He believed Jesus was who He claimed to be and that Jesus could and would grant his request.

Fortunately for the thief on the cross, not only is Jesus able but that day, Jesus chose to show him mercy and grant his request. Jesus’s answer to him makes that clear. So what does the criminal on the cross have in common with the vineyard workers? – especially those hired on at the eleventh hour? It seems to me, they all had nothing to offer but everything to gain.

The criminal on the cross offered Jesus nothing in exchange for what he was asking of Jesus, but Jesus granted his request anyway. The criminal received what he did not deserve and could not earn. Those late hire vineyard workers received wages they hadn’t earned also. The owner extended them an invitation that was unlikely and unexpected at that late hour of the day when little time to work was left, but they accepted and went to his vineyard anyway, with little to offer the owner. But the owner rewarded them as if they had worked all day, from the very first hour. They had little to give but their gain was great.

I feel my own connection to the vineyard workers and to the criminal on the cross. I have nothing to offer Jesus but everything to gain when I accept His invitation to come work in His kingdom or I boldly request of Him what no one else has the power to give. Even though I have nothing to offer Him, Jesus stands ready to give me everything. Why would I not cry out – “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”?

Like the vineyard workers and the criminal on the cross, I am thankful that this is true of God –

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)

There is hope! Even in the most seemingly hopeless situation there is hope. The workers who had waited all day in vain to be hired ended up with a full day’s wages after receiving and accepting an unlikely, last minute invitation. The criminal hanging on the cross had the audacity to take Jesus at His word and to ask Jesus for what he did not deserve but longed to receive. Because he humbled himself and acknowledged the truth of who Jesus is, Jesus granted his impossible request.

The accounts of these people give me so much hope. I can always cry out to my Heavenly Father, even though I have nothing to offer Him but my need and my brokenness. He has everything to offer me and stands ready to do the impossible so that I might receive it. Indeed, in Isaiah I am told –

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.” (Isaiah 30:18)

Like the criminal on the cross, I can believe despite what appears to be happening in this world at the moment, that the Christ on the cross will indeed “remember me when He comes into His kingdom.” I will have the faith to believe and to make my impossible request of Jesus. I have nothing to give to Him. He has everything to give to me. The criminal on the cross understood this even though he had never heard these words spoken by Jesus to His disciples –

“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

Jesus remembers me, He will remember you too, dear readers – ask Him!

sincerely, Grace Day