The Do Over

I want a “DO OVER”!

As I am sitting here in Jackson, MS, watching an inch or 2 of snow bring this city to a standstill, I am thinking that for this business trip, I want a “DO OVER”!!  I saw the weather report with only a 30% chance of winter weather, and I thought that, this far south, there would be no significant problems with the weather.  Well, I was wrong! I need a "DO OVER"!

When I was a youngster, my brother and I would play any sport offered to us, usually basketball or baseball.  Being more than two years younger, I often wanted a DO OVER, since I had just received a thrashing!  

As an adult, I reflect on events of my past, and can remember many times where a DO OVER would have been really nice.  I often think why did I do that, or say that, or participate in that activity……..and the list goes on…

In the midst of my "why did I?"'s, I turn to scripture, and see how many times throughout God’s Word, Old and New Testament,people would have loved to have a DO OVER.  From the beginning with Adam & Eve, to Samson, King Saul, King David, and nearly every other King of Israel or Judah, I bet they would have loved a DO OVER!  How about some New Testament examples?  When Jesus spoke of the Rich Man & Lazarus (Luke 16) it is pretty obvious that the Rich Man would have loved an opportunity for a DO OVER.  When we look at the Apostle Peter, don’t you know he would have LOVED to get a DO OVER of the night he denied his Lord and Savior not once, but THREE times!?!  In the life of the Apostle Paul, while still named Saul, he KILLED Christians, and was one of those opposed to Jesus and calling for his Crucifixion!  I’m sure he would have loved an opportunity for a DO OVER!

And so back to today, to reality, to the daily trudge of work and life in which we we all participate…..  Think about how you live and treat others.  So many of the people in Scripture that we hold in high esteem had the same faults, weaknesses, struggles, and temptations in life that we have today.  We need to learn from their mistakes!  Don't spend your life wishing for DO OVERS. Live today and all your tomorrows in such a way that you long for a DO AGAIN rather than a DO OVER.