I
was watching a little TV the other night and my show was regularly
punctuated by the expected commercials and also some previews of upcoming fall shows. (I'm running a little behind.) At least four times I watched Charlie
Sheen stride to centre stage - railroad crossing - and was treated to
the most spectacular, over the top special effects train wreck. When
no more destruction was left to my imagination, Charlie walks toward
the camera and, dusting off his jacket says, “C'mon! Everybody
deserves a 24th chance”. HA! Charlie Sheen of all
people, the quintessential bad-boy of iconic proportions whose
behaviors and life choices we've all had the dubious pleasure of
observing whether we wanted to or not, is actually speaking the truth.
Everybody DOES deserve a 24th chance. How about a
36th chance and even a 67th chance? Maybe even
a 70 x 7 chance? We live in a universe created and kept by the power of a
God of endless chances, multiple choices, do-overs, rematches and a never ending parade of possibilities and
opportunities that scroll by us daily.
Right
down to the last minutes of our lives, God is watching and waiting
for his people to say, “Oops, let me try that again”. His
universe is a place of cause and effect, of ask and receive, of give
and take and it's never too late. These are universal laws, just like gravity. As you
believe, so you are. Whoever asks, receives.
I
believe I am created in the image of God. My righteousness is his
gift to me through the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus. I
believe that God is good and that if I follow him, the outcome will
always be good. My behavior is not who I am but my behavior
absolutely reflects who I believe that I am. And every day I have a
every chance to bring my beliefs back in line with the truth.... that
God is for me and if he is for me, He will never be against me.
So
yah! Charlie deserves a 24th chance! God is for him too.
We can manage our anger and fear and doubt every day and just try to
do a better job of it, or we can let them go, send them away. When we choose to let them go,
we enter another realm.. a parallel universe almost, of grace and
mercy and freedom, living according to God's law of love and peace. And this is exactly as it should be.
God bless you, Charlie!
From
the Bible: Romans 8 :31, Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24
