A Second Chance At Living

Bruce Larson in his book, "Living Beyond Our Fears", tells a great story about a judge in Yugoslavia who had an unfortunate accident. He was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. His wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead and, as was the custom in that particular town, he was placed in a room under a crypt in the town cemetery for 24 hours before burial. In the middle of the night, the judge came to, realized where he was, and rushed over to alert the guard, who promptly ran off terrified. "Fortunately, he returned with a friend, and they released the newly revived judge, whose first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her. He got no farther than, 'Darling, it's me--' when she screamed and fainted. Next he went to the houses of several friends, who were sure he was a ghost. In a last desperate measure, he called a friend in a distant city, who had not heard of his death, and who interceded for him with his family and friends." While humorous, this story reminds me of a great truth. Many of us are temporarily knocked unconscious by reaching for the things of the world around us. But when we come to ourselves and acknowledge what has happened we're quick to realize that God is gracious and gives us a second chance at life. He does so after every sin; after every disappointment. That's why we focus on new beginnings and fresh starts during the New Year. Admitting failure is not the problem because we're so experienced at it. However, the greater challenge is to take the second chance and to do better at it. My prayer is that 2011 will be a year when we take the grace that God gives us and purpose in our hearts that we will do the best we can. In doing so it will trully be a Happy New Year!