A Lifetime Do-Over

           I remember those times when my daughter didn’t want to finish games. When she made costly mistakes and she knew that her score would not be one of the best, she just pushed the plus sign to start the video game over right away.

           If there were a plus button in life, how many times would you have pushed it? Instead of picking up the pieces and having to work through the messes of your own doing, wouldn’t it seem nice to just start again? 

           All of us can relate to that. We have all made mistakes, and some have been very costly. They have cost us time, money, and even relationships. Sometimes we are able to turn those mistakes around, even seeing ways we have grown through the process and the mended bones prove to be stronger than before. Other times we just wish we could start over.

            When God is considered the desire to have a do-over button is even stronger. God sees it all. God knows it all. God has opinions about it all. God is a just judge.

            When Jesus walked on the earth he revealed God by his teachings and his activities. The major life philosophy of the day was if you do enough religious things, you can be in a right relationship with God. The main religious duties were things like the Ten Commandments: worship the right God, don’t make any idols, don’t murder, commit adultery, steal, and so on.

            Jesus cut through that life philosophy. We often have a pretty favorable estimate of our talents and abilities. My daughter thought she ought to have set a new high score on her video game every time. Most people think they do a good enough job at religion to earn God’s respect, but they don’t.

            One time a rich young man came up to Jesus asking about eternal life. So far so good. He is asking the right person the right question. Jesus turned the tables on him asking him about how well he would score on the Ten Commandment final exam. The guy basically says he’d get 100.

            Jesus gave the man a loving look and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). The man then gave Jesus a deflated look, dropped his head, and just walked away. The reason given is that the man had so much stuff.

            The point of that encounter was not that if the guy had only done a little more religion, he could have purchased eternal life. The point was this man’s heart. When the heart enters the equation no one passes religious exams.

            Jesus said that obeying God is not only about not committing murder or adultery, but it also means not becoming angry at other people and not lusting after them in your heart (Matthew 5:21-30).

            There are no do-over buttons in life. There are no do-over buttons with God. Everything you have ever said and done and thought is on the record. You have been taking your final religious exam your entire life, and if you are honest you know that you are failing badly. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

            Is there any hope for a fresh start? Though we can’t do life over again, is there any way to be right with a holy and just God? Yes. You can be right with God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

            One of the most famous sentences in the Bible is John 3:16 which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That wonderful message is explained by other verses in the Bible.

            “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Our bad thoughts and actions are sins against God. Even our half-hearted religious efforts are considered sinful. Just as you go to work and earn a paycheck, your sins have been adding up to a massive paycheck, death. Not just the separation of your soul from your body, but also the separation of you from God under his wrath in hell. 

            The good news is that God made a way for him to still be just and forgive you for all of your sins. He punished Jesus while he was dying on the cross in the place of sinners. Somebody had to be punished for our messes. As full deity, Jesus had the power to endure eternal punishment in six hours on the cross. His last words before he died were a victory cry, “It is finished!”

            Three days later God raised Jesus from the dead. He is just as alive and you are as you read these words. His life proves the reality of what he said and did. His life means that you can live again. Turn from your sins and trust him.

            One of the Bible writers put it like this, “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

            Jesus once told a man that he needed to be born again before he could ever see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Being born again sure sounds a lot like a fresh start to me. While it doesn’t make up for many of our earthly mistakes, it does change everything spiritually. God takes your sins and gives you his righteousness. Then he begins to change you from the inside out into the person he wants you to be.

            Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Why don’t you tell God what is on your heart right now? If you want that fresh start through Jesus, just talk to him right where you are. He can hear you. He loves you. He made this incredible way for you to have a fresh start. He would love for you to come to him today.