Morning Devotional

July 6, 2003

“Secondary Lenders”  

by Don Emmitte

Home

But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight--not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times. And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 NLV). 

In the car business we rely on what is known as a “credit score” to determine eligibility for a loan. Sometimes these scores are lower than our primary lenders will allow. That causes us to look for other sources. We call these lenders “secondary lenders.” They specialize in giving people second chances financially after they have had some financial setbacks or difficulties. We have had a number of such cases in our store lately. All of them were very legitimate needs. Some of them had insurmountable medical bills that caused their credit to score low. Some had been laid off from their jobs and had been forced to work for much less salary. Others had made bad business decisions and lost significant amounts of money. All of them needed a second chance.

There are many examples of people in the Scripture who have spiritually found themselves in the same place. They needed a second chance. We are told of men and women who engaged in sin and ungodly behavior, yet who, through repentance and the saving grace of Jesus Christ, went on to be witnesses of God's word. Take, for example, the woman who was caught in the act of adultery by the scribes and Pharisees. Seeing the woman's deep remorse, Jesus told her, "Then neither do I condemn you." He also added, "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:11). And then there was David, King of Israel, who was the apple of God's eye? When one reads of David's life, we see a man of complex character who had many faults along with numerous virtues. Psalm 51 illustrates David's true repentant attitude toward a very grievous offense, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions." David's sincere plea to God for his sin was a cry from the depth of his heart. God pardoned him and David humbly accepted the consequences of his transgression as just punishment.
 
How fortunate we are that God is a God of second chances! Our Heavenly Father did not send His Son, Jesus Christ, for the perfect, the sinless, but for those who stumble, fall, and are lost. He is there to minister, love, and care for all that call upon Him. We may be able to hide our deepest, darkest secrets from man, but only God knows our true heart and only He has the ability to offer us a second chance at life! Do not let your second chance glide by. God has wonderful things in store for you if only you let Him. Invite Him into your life... your second chance awaits!