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Why Does God Give Second Chances?

Have you ever wondered, “Why does God even give people multiple chances?” Or maybe another way to think about it is, if somebody is so messed up, why would God even spend time helping them get back on their feet? Why doesn’t He move on to someone who’s got their life together? With eight billion people on earth, doesn’t God have enough people to choose from? Is He so desperate for people to follow Him that He goes after those most in need and vulnerable?
You could also ask, “Why does God give second chances at all? Can’t He be doing something better and more productive? Wouldn’t He rather spend time floating around on clouds and creating breathtaking sunsets, all the while being serenaded by angels with harps? Why would God want to waste His time showing up at a rehab center? Why would he care about someone’s spending habits or anger issues? Why would He spend His Friday nights hanging out at an AA meeting?
Odd gods: While it may seem obvious to us now, many people throughout history couldn’t make sense of the idea that there is only one God who gives people multiple chances. Throughout history, many cultures have worshiped false gods who demand respect out of fear, terror, and the threat of consequences. The ancient Greeks, for example, had several gods who were to be worshiped out of fear rather than love. They thought that Poseidon would drown your boat if you disrespected the sea, and Apollo, the god of the sun, would send plagues on your family or community if you forgot to sacrifice to him. Even neglecting your craft or producing shoddy work for Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts, could result in losing your skill or creativity altogether.
It is not just the ancient Greeks who lived in fear and terror of their gods. The Egyptians had Ra, the god of the sun; Anubis, the god of the dead; and Isis, the goddess of motherhood and fertility. The Hindus have Brahma, the god of creation; Vishnu, the god of preservation and protection; and Shive, the god of destruction and regeneration. Each of these cultures have multiple gods that emphasize everything except unconditional love.
A different viewpoint: In contrast, the Bible presents a different story: the story of one God, Yahweh, who loves unconditionally. But even many of those who studied the Scriptures and the ways of Yahweh closely, the Pharisees, missed that God was a loving God.
A few Pharisees around the time of Jesus wanted to dig a bit deeper into the mystery of God’s love. You see, the Pharisees were the best of the best when it came to following the commands of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. People turned to these religious scholars for answers to their theological questions. Their full-time job was essentially being good and obedient to the religious laws. But many Phariess and other experts in the law hated Jesus. They hated what He taught. They hated that He didn’t keep their rules as they thought He should. Mostly they hated that people started to listen and follow Him instead of them. But that didn’t stop Jesus from showing the world that God is a God who loves everyone.
But there was a small group of Pharisees who thought that maybe, just maybe, God was up to something at that moment. They wondered if it were possible that Jesus was actually from God and that the message that “God is love” was true.
We don’t know how it all transpired, but this small group of Pharisees got together early one morning and decided they had to get some answers from Jesus Himself. They didn’t understand all His teachings, but they had witnessed Him do miraculous things. They couldn’t explain what they saw, but they knew something was different about Him. He knew so much about the Scriptures, but the way He talked and interacted with others was inviting and compassionate.
This small sect of Pharisee radicals weren’t ready to follow Him as God’s Son, the promised Messiah, but they couldn’t ignore Him, either. They particularly had one question they needed to ask Jesus. So, they decided that Nicodemus was the perfect guy to approach Jesus because he was the Pharisee who was one of the oldest, wisest, and closest to being perfect. Nicodemus didn’t want the anti-Jesus Pharisees to know what he was doing, so he found a time at night and met with Jesus unnoticed.
Under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus found Jesus and began asking Him the question he had probably been rehearsing the whole way over. But Jesus did that thing that He often did. He answered someone’s question before it was even asked. Before Nicodemus could open his mouth, Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Several thoughts probably ran through Nicodemus’ mind: How on earth can someone be born again? What does that even mean? I wanted to talk about God’s love, not rebirth.
Jesus explained a bit more, but I’ll speed ahead for us. Here’s the summary of God’s intent, birthed in love:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
Did you catch that? I’m not sure if Nicodemus did either, at least not at first. Jesus said that God’s love, not one’s way of life, is the determining factor for second chances. Eternal life is possible because “God so loved the world.”
For Nicodemus, it was too overwhelming. He grew up, perhaps like you did, learning that God was always looking at him the same way a 1960s authoritarian schoolteacher would target misbehaving students. You know the type—the one with eyes in the back of their head and a knack for catching mischief from a mile away. If you behaved, you stayed out of trouble, but if you misbehaved, you were sent to the principal’s office and punished. Nicodemus learned in Pharisee school that if you want a right standing with God and wish to have eternal life with Him, you must be able to keep God’s commandments as much as possible. But the slightest misstep resulted in God handing you an eternal detention slip.
Jesus threw Nicodemus a curveball when He said that whoever believes will have eternal life. To which Nicodemus probably thought, Wait, Jesus. Don’t you mean whoever behaves will have eternal life? But Jesus didn’t misspeak; He’s the author of truth, after all. It has nothing to do with proper behavior. Instead, it is an internal thing. It has everything to do with what one believes.
Explain that again. But why would God allow anyone, regardless of background and conduct, to have eternal life with Him? Why would God give everyone, everywhere, the possibility for a do-over? Simply put, because “God so loved the world.”
God’s love for the world is something that we will never fully comprehend. We can sense it. We can see a glimpse of it in how a parent loves their child, but God’s unconditional love for you and me will be something we will spend all of eternity trying to understand and only begin to scratch the surface. God does not gain anything by having us. Instead, it turns out it is the complete opposite. We gain everything by having Him. But for this to happen, He had to lose everything. God showcased His love when He sent His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him (1 John 4:8-10).
The reason why God gives second chances to people like you, me, and my brother will always be beyond us. It surely isn’t because God needs us, as He is all-sufficient. Surely, He is not bored, since He is the Creator of all things. So then, why does God give us second chances? In a word; love. There is no other way to explain why God offers second chances than He is a God who loves.
The only word that can summarize why God gives us second chances is love.
…
Excerpt taken from Moving Forward After Messing Up: A New Future with the God of Second Chances by Dr. Chris Rappazini. Used with permission.
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Chris Rappazini
Chris Rappazini is a Professor of Leadership at Anderson University, a professional speaker, and a leadership life coach. Before his role at Anderson University, Chris was a professor of pastoral studies and preaching for eleven years at the Moody Bible Institute and served in various pastoral roles throughout the nation. He is a former writer for Moody’s Today in the Word and the former president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He earned a doctorate degree in leadership studies from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree in theology from the University of Edinburgh, a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Moody Bible Institute. Chris also conducted postdoctoral research at Baylor University. Learn more at faithfulstepsforward.com
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