A couple of weeks ago, the doorbell rang. And that’s always an exciting happening because the bell plays a tune in the kitchen where I’m based and I always do my best to join in with it! Anyway, my owner went to the door, and there before him was a man with a large bag of things that he was selling. The man thrust a license into my owner’s hands and announced that he was an ex-prisoner trying to go straight. He was selling items to raise funds so that he could do a course in engineering.
Now, there are some occasions in life when we are called to make a very quick judgement, and this was one of them. My owner looked at the man before him. He was full of energy, -almost excess energy. He had tattoos up the side of his neck suggesting that he’d previously been involved in drugs and gang culture. But the license looked genuine and he decided that the man was sincere. My owner didn’t really need anything, but he decided to buy a torch to help the man out.
Now, there’s always a very poor internet signal in our village, so when it came to paying on the man’s card machine, my owner had to follow him out to the road where the man dramatically raised one arm as high as he could to pick up the signal. And my owner joked that he looked a bit like the statue of liberty. And that comment broke down any barriers that still existed. The man roared with laughter, and my owner knew immediately that he was genuine.
The man went on his way, and about half an hour later, my owner took our elderly labrador out for a short walk. And across the other side of the village, the two of them came face to face again. This time he was very upset. He’d called on a house where another human had threatened to ‘deck him’ unless he got off their property, and they’d apparently said that they’d call the police unless he immediately left the village. Well, my owner offered a few words of sympathy and carried on. And around the next corner, he came face to face with the house-owner that had just been so aggressive.
“Be careful” this man said. “There’s a very dodgy bloke walking ‘round the village. He’s staking everything out. I think he’s a gang member. Make sure you keep all of your doors and windows locked for the next few weeks and don’t leave anything valuable out in your garden.”
Clearly, this resident had reached a different conclusion to that of my owner. And that was really rather a shame. Because while there are occasions when we’re forced to make snap judgments, everyone needs to be given a second chance as well. A bit like the way in which God and Jesus offer all of us a second chance when we would otherwise be both wretched and lost. We’re all lost sheep (or parrots) in our own particular way. (Yes, even me, with my vanity, and wanting to be top bird on the highest perch). We all need some forgiveness, encouragement and understanding from the world around us, as well as from Heaven!
“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
(Oscar Wilde: [1854-1900]: Irish author, poet and playwright)
“If God was willing to give people a second chance, why should we do any less?”
(Irene Hannon: [1955-present]: Current American author of romantic fiction).
“If you are still breathing, you have a second chance.”
(Oprah Winfrey: [1954-present]: American talk show host, actress and author).
“God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.”
(Tony Evans: [1949-present]: American evangelical pastor and broadcaster).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Comments