Everyone deserves a second chance.
So let people have it.
You know exactly who I’m talking about because someone just popped up into your mind.
The former drug-addict that slips in the back of church and sits in the back row until the service is almost over and then slips out again. She deserves it.
The father who wounded you, who didn’t know how to be a good example of God to you, but who is a different man now. He deserves it.
The friend who rejected you and betrayed you but who has called and texted but you won’t answer. She deserves it.
The woman who committed adultery but is humbled, has accepted God’s grace and is living a different life. She deserves it.
They deserve YOUR grace.
The black and white fact is that everyone of us has been given a second chance. And in all reality, a third, a fourth and a fifth chance. Even if we aren’t drug addicts or adulterers. Every one of us has been allowed to make huge mistakes and then have been accepted, loved, coddled back into grace.
Grace changes people: hardened ears, solidified hearts and broken people are softened by the grace that you and I can give.
I know you are thinking of someone right now. They haven’t been able to leave your head since you started reading this post.
Who is it? Give them grace.
And, yes you might get hurt. Giving people a second chance exposes you and at the same time it strengthens you.
But as a living recipient of thousands of second chances, I promise you it will be worth it.
Do you need to give grace today? Do you need a second chance?
Tags: adultery, grace, second chances
i need grace every single day. !!!
and i must remember to forgive and give grace for those who offend me and are no longer in my favor. and the thing is, i must remember to do it on the spot, the moment i realize i am upset or troubled by what that person said/did. if i let time pass, i will only hold grudge in my heart and then I’ll to find excuses to not give them the grace they need.
Lord help me!
I like your part “Giving people second chances exposes you and strengthens you”.
Yes, this is very true and the reason it took me two years to forgive my dad and then another 2 years to forgive my brother and his wife! Wow, four years of silence……and now we are healing together but still need prayer and God to get us through and not repeat mistakes! It’s so hard!! Thank you for reminding me why I have given second chances and to continue to give grace….to be an example! I want people to say…
“Wow! She forgave her/him…..that’s crazy!!!
Have a great day…..and I love your Christmas card!!!
Thanks Sarah! And I am so thankful for God’s grace. God so easily gives it to us and we need to give it to others. So simple! ann
Grace is a wonderful thing. I shutter to think of how much I need every day……..
The beauty of grace is that it is bestowed to the UNDESERVING. We cannot earn it, and we all desperately need to offer it and receive it. It’s often easier to bestow when we remember our own great need for it.
you said it all here!
I am dying for just a little grace right now. It feels unbearable when I know I don’t deserve it, but your story has given me so much hope of what can happen to a marriage when grace covers it.
So well put. Grace does change people. In amazing ways.
i don’t think that any of us ‘deserve’ grace. i think that’s what makes grace-GRACE. it’s a gift, given freely in the face of unworthyness.
unconditional.
give grace, pratice grace because of the grace we have been given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
i agree. what i meant by the word “deserve” is that we owe it to others to give grace as freely as god has given it to us.
grace? need it for sure….every. single. day. do i extend it? hopefully so….most times, but probably not always…if i’m honest. being humbled and extended grace makes me more aware of the need to give it away. thanks for this post, sarah.
Just beautiful. I have tears in my eyes. Thank you Sarah.
I want my legacy to be one of forgiveness and love and extending grace; ESPECIALLY to those lost and hurting souls that others don’t think deserve it. And Lord knows I’ve received my second chance, and am thankful for it each and every day.
For some reason this made me think of the WWJD slogan–italways made me laugh, but there is definitely truth there. I would rather stand before the throne having exuded those traits above all else.
i can think of several people i need to give grace to! thanks!
Sarah, what a wonderful reminder! Thank you. I’d add a few thoughts, though: No one deserves grace. If they did, it wouldn’t be grace. It would be payment, as if I’m entitled. I know that’s not what you mean.
We all need grace. But none of us deserve it. That’s why it’s so mind boggling.
I would say that those of us who have experienced grace firsthand and have been set free by it’s scandalous generosity OUGHT to extend it freely to others, even (or especially) to the least of these——not because they deserve it, but because grace is the air they need to breathe at that moment.
I struggle with this more than i wish to admit. For me you hit the nail on the head when you talked about a friend who texts but you refuse to respond.
The thing with giving someone else grace is that you put yourself out there and you run the risk of getting hurt by that same person over and over again. This is a really tough one for me (and I am sure for many others) because no one wants to get hurt and to be hurt repeatedly by the same person or persons is the hardest rejection.
Thanks for this reminder! God continually gives us the grace of forgiveness-unconditionally. We should be able to offer it to everyone in our lives.
Maybe i will just give this girl a call… start fresh?
also, extending grace doesn’t just look ‘one way’. sometimes it is not healthy or wise to respond or involve yourself with someone else.
this may be for a season or indefinitely.
and doing so isn’t withholding grace.
definitely involves discernment.
thank you for letting me share- i felt compelled to do so.
of course. i would never advocate renewing an unhealthy or abusive relationship. thank you for mentioning this.
and I love the dialogue. =)
Hi Sarah!
Boy do I ever! I know what it feels like first hand. I have literally begged for this second chance. I believe the Lord is good and will help my husband give me that, but it is a tough road when the one you have hurt doesn’t want to be hurt again and is afraid to trust you.
I have a question….why does lying come so easy to women? Why is it so easy to hurt the one person you have loved your whole life? confusing.
Jessica
I’m so glad you were able to recognize what happened in Starbucks for what it was and not sugarcoat it. The devil knows what your weakness is. That was a test. He was testing you to see if you really meant what you said after the affair. He was testing you to see if you had changed.
i agree with what kelsey said … sometimes it is hard. really really hard. especially when the person or people you need to extend that grace to continually hurt you in the same way. i have given up the bitterness but learning to trust and give second, third, fourth, one hundred chances is something i can only do with the strength of god.
Thanks on your marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.