Always a Chance

In my more than thirty years of ministry I have met too many people who have given up on God. They have given up on their ‘chance’ for a better life. They have decided they are not worth anyone’s time, let alone God’s time.

In each of those moments in the past thirty years I found myself face to face with despair. Sitting next to someone who believes their chance for a better life has passed them can be difficult. All I could do was walk with them and let them know someone was on their side.

Today’s lesson from Saint Paul reminds us there is always someone on our side. We may not see that person. We may not ‘feel’ their presence, but someone is there for us. That someone is Christ and He is present through the Church, or at least He wants to be.

Brethren, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God. Open your hearts to us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. With all our affliction, I am overjoyed. For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn –fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it (though I did regret it), for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting; for you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.

2^nd Corinthians 7.1-10

We know that Saint Paul was a very strict spiritual father. He expected people to live up to the standards of Christ and the Church. He also knew there were times when people lost hope for a better life. In those moments instead of coddling them, he challenged them to something better.

Saint Paul had a way of pulling us out of despair and seeing hope in Christ. It hurt many times, but in the end after repentance, we look back and thank him for his strict teachings and high standards. Saint Paul helps us understand there is always a chance to repent.

The worst part of despair is thinking there is no chance, no opportunity, no reason to even try to repent. That could have been the case for one man who lived such an evil life, even as a slave he was not wanted by anyone. We know this man as Saint Moses the Black.

Saint Moses could have lost hope. He could have walked the earth as an outcast, but he chose repentance. He chose to turn to God and through repentance became a respected holy saint of God. I share that today to remind you; there is always a chance.

You may be reading today’s blog thinking you are beyond hope. You are wrong. I have seen it before. What you need is a bit of ‘tough love’ to remind you that you are not alone. You have someone who is always willing to stand next to you. Christ is standing next to you. GET UP!

You may know someone who has given up. I want you to know you cannot give up on your friend today. Lift up his name to God. As God to guide your heart. Ask God to reveal hope to your friend. Then go visit him. Let him know he is worth your time. He is not alone.

If today’s lesson Saint Paul teaches us anything, it is that the Church (that means you and me) is here to call our loved ones and friends to hope and repentance. It is up to us to let them know we have not given up on them. We must let them know there is always a chance.