Second Chances

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (1 Peter 3:18-22 ESV).

Last week my oldest granddaughter, Faith, competed in the Aledo Middle School Spelling Bee. She did well, even though she didn’t win. I know I wouldn’t have done better. Of interest to me was the initial instruction at the beginning of the completion that there would be no starting over once the student began to spell the word. Even if they realized their error and tried to correct it, once they said a letter that was the final word. That seemed harsh, but it was the rule. There were no second chances. That stark principle brought me to our reading today. I am often asked, do people get a second chance in their spiritual lives? The answer to that is complicated. Perhaps it is more complex than we have room to explore in this brief devotional; however, let me touch on the issue. The answer is “yes.” God does give us second chances; in fact, sometimes we get multiple chances. The reason for this is that our salvation is not based in our work. It is solely based on the work of Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. We do not stand before the judge like a spelling bee contestant required to get it right the first time or simply fail. If that were the case I doubt there would be any of us with any hope at all. The Good News is that salvation and eternal life are available to all who come to Christ in repentant faith. John says it this way: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12 ESV). This may be applied whether you are coming to faith for the first time or not. For many Christians there is that nagging bit of doubt that creeps into our minds because of failures. It may be you are one of those believers. You may have done something that you feel is irrevocable. That is simply not the case. You have another chance today. Perhaps you’re not sure. Pray today, trusting in Christ alone for your salvation and eternal life, and you will have Christ in your heart which brings you sureness of eternal life. God is not looking at our failures; he is looking at the success of Jesus! Trust Him!