Do-Overs

Do you remember as a child playing a game and when something went wrong you’d ask for a do-over (a chance to correct a mistake without being penalized)? If you play golf a do-over is called a mulligan. An unwritten rule in golf is that you’re allowed one mulligan per round.

As adults, how many opportunities do we have to ask for a do-over? You get distracted while driving and you damage the bumper of the car in front of you, wouldn’t it be nice to get a do-over. You lose your temper and say something nasty to another person and later on are remorseful for your actions. Wouldn’t it be great to take out that do-over card and use it?

There are some people who never ask for a do-over because they think they never make any mistakes. To some admitting a mistake is perceived as a weakness. I remember the time a reporter asked President Bush what was the biggest mistake he made during his presidency and he couldn’t come up with any. He probably didn’t want to admit any fearing political suicide.

How comfortable are we in granting do-overs when someone has hurt us? Isn’t a do-over in certain circumstances a sort of forgiveness?

Jesus taught us, even up to and until His last moments, while dying on the cross, when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Ephesians 4:32 tells us to "Forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Children have an easier time in granting do-overs; they are very lenient in granting an unlimited amount. As adults we harden our hearts and at best we’ll provide you with maybe one, the mulligan. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 18: 3, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Forgiveness cancels a debt someone owes us and restores relationship. It is the only solution in a world ridden with sin and evil to help us start over (do-over) with people and with God.

Alexander Pope stated very succinctly, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”