A Second Chance - Pas. Vinod Victor

My daughter came home and said, “Daddy you have to give me 20 rupees to buy labels.” I had given her only Rs.10 that morning to purchase them, thinking that was more than sufficient. I was wondering how a sheet of label has shot up so high. Meanwhile my wife smelling something fishy began to enquire her. Slowly the truth came out.

She had used the Rs.10 given for her class photograph on some snacks. So she tried to cover it by asking Rs.20 for labels. I told my wife to send her to school and I would talk to her in the evening. I spoke to her that evening and she came out with the facts. She was hungry on a particular day and her snack that day was not sufficient so she used the photo money to buy some snacks.

The reason she didn’t come out with the truth was because she feared being punished. I had to explain to her that the first part was okay and she should have come home and plainly told about it. The way she went about it was wrong and she will be disciplined only for wrong things such as speaking a lie. But since this is the first time, she would be forgiven and she should not repeat it again.

Within a week she came asked me money for snacks. This time she wanted to eat a snack from the school and not carry it from home. I obliged. So occasionally this happens. But at least she has started confiding in us from that incident which in itself was a good start or progress in life. During these moments my thoughts dwelt on Mat 18:21-22 – “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (NIV)” Apostle Peter was asking Jesus, how many times should I give my brother a second chance? His query was if seven times was good enough. Jesus answered him, “not seven times, but Seventy-seven” times.

In other words as many times as the need be. If only every Christian learns to forgive one another like this, wouldn’t the world be a better place. How much more better when Christian families learn to put this into action in their day-to-day life. It is so true in our marriages. When we bang into a person (by mistake) on the street, we tend to be so courteous, even forgiving, though the stranger is at fault. At the same time we are so proud, puffed-up and unforgiving with our own spouses or family members.

We take them for granted. Every time we fail in our Christian life, Christ asks us to come to Him for a cleansing, so we could become clean and ready as before – giving us another chance. (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9, KJV). I am talking here of small issues we face in our daily lives. What do you do when: Your spouse has forgotten and the milk boils over and spills all over the stove and messes up the kitchen – you had just cleaned the place. Your children are unorganized and have strewn the toys all over the room.

You are very organized but your spouse is not. She has used your car last evening and had misplaced the keys and you are already getting late to work. You husband is unorganized and drops things everywhere. He is searching his bike keys as usual and he wants you to help but you are trying to get your son/daughter to finish their breakfast, the school-van will be arriving any minute. Do these things spark off into arguments leading to big fights or do you take it easy and give your mate another chance.

Fighting over split milk is doing no good to any one. So are the many other things in your lives. Some ways to handle such situations is to do the following: Remember, no one does such things intentionally. Arguing or fighting over them only worsens things and does not help anyone. If you cannot help the other person, the best thing to do is to keep silent. Do not nag the other person. If some thing is becoming habitual, talk about it at an appropriate time, not at the moment. Approach the problem positively and avoid giving advice. Empower your spouse or family member to come with their own solutions. Mostly importantly remember these are trivial issues and the Bible speaks of forgiveness even when someone wrong’s you. The next time you find yourself in a similar situation, remember to give a second chance, and again a second chance and again a second chance… Jesus said, “…not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”