Wednesday, January 2, 2013

A Clean Slate

photo from Vicki Caruana
“I’ve screwed up so many times. I wish I could just start over,” said the young man sitting across from me, holding his head in his hands.

At one time or another, many of us have yearned to rewind life and try it again. Past mistakes and failures rattle us, like the chains Marley dragged around with him in Dickens’, A Christmas Carol.

How happy I was to be able to share with the distraught young man that we CAN start over! In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul shares that those who give their lives to Christ become new creatures. Their old lives are gone; new life begins!

Paul’s words echo those of Jesus who said we must be born again spiritually--turn away from our sins and trust Jesus to forgive us and guide us. This new spiritual birth certainly sounds like a re-start to me.

Each New Year, people everywhere hope for a fresh beginning. With God, it is possible! Jesus can wipe the slate clean—not just on January 1, but every day! Have you asked Jesus to wash away every speck of your sin from the chalkboard of your life? He loves to do just that—and then clap the erasers!

©2013 Pamela D. Williams