23 July 2009
Posted in Illustrations

In his book "Beginnings Without End" Sam Keen tells about a dream he once had after certain events had changed his life. In this dream a man appeared to him and said, "I have learned one important thing in my life — how to begin again."
We all have times when we face the need of a new beginning. We sin and need to repent. We fall and need to try again. A marriage comes apart, and two people must make separate lives for themselves. A loved one dies, and those left must learn to live with the void. A person loses a job and is faced with the traumatic experience of finding and beginning a new one. A person or family moves and must adjust to new surroundings. A person loses his health or grows old, and must adjust to a new lifestyle.
Fear of rejection often adds to the mental anguish of those who have made a mistake. This is where the church needs to be supportive.
One thing is certain. The Bible assures us that when we seek another chance God is always willing to give it to us. As God came to Jonah a second time (Jonah 3:1-2), so God will come to us a second, a third, a fourth, and so on, seeking to draw us into divine love and will.
There is, however, a warning. Some people think that, even if they disregard God to the very end of their lives, God will still give them another chance after death; that because God is love and has all eternity at God's disposal, God will not give up till the last sinner has responded to divine love.
This is an appealing idea to those who do not want to change their ways, but it is a dangerous gamble to take. If there is such a promise in the Bible, it is hard to find. On the contrary, the Bible talks about a gulf in eternity so wide and deep that, in spite of his remorse, a man who had been callous and indifferent on earth could not cross over (Luke 16:20-26). Why take a chance?