Does God Allow Do-overs? Lesson Two from the Art Gallery

As we made our way through the art gallery, I took the opportunity to ask my friend Lisa some questions.  A talented artist herself, I knew she would share her knowledge of painting without making me feel ignorant.  Examining the oil and acrylic dabbed onto the canvases, I wondered out loud, "What do you do when you make a mistake?"

"Well," she replied, "sometimes you can wipe it off.  Sometimes you use a cleaner, and sometimes you just wait for it to dry and paint over it."  "Hm," I replied, "like do-overs.  Too bad there are no do-overs in life."

As I thought about my words and compared them with scripture, though, I realized that there are do-overs in life.  In fact, our whole life is a do-over if we know Jesus Christ as our Savior. 

First, if we have accepted Christ as our Savior, the red stain of our sin is cleansed by the washing of his blood on the cross on our behalf.  "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow," states Isaiah 1:18.

Second, we can approach God with confidence, knowing that our hearts and our lives have been wiped clean.  Hebrews 10:22 encourages us, " Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

Finally, we do not have to allow our lives to be dogged by our mistakes, our sins, and our failures.  The apostle Paul described the ultimate "let it dry and paint over it," approach when he encouraged believers to join him in "forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."  1 John 1:9 encourages us not to take sin lightly, but when we do, "if we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Paul again reminds us that there is "therefore now no condemnation to those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Rom. 8:1)

It is important to remember that we begin each day with a new slate.  "His mercies are new every morning.  Great is Thy faithfulness."  (Lam. 3:23)  Let's make the most of God's gracious do-overs by accepting his cleansing, keeping short accounts with God, and pressing on to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

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