Faithfully yours - A second chance

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Published on Saturday, May 7, 2016

By Neil Strohschein

The Neepawa Banner

I will never forget how defeated and devastated I felt. My world had come crashing around my shoulders. I was beginning to realize just how many of my problems were my own fault. I was sinking into despair and depression; and then this happened.

Someone came up to me and said: “Neil, you shouldn’t be preaching. Your life and your family are in disarray. You no longer deserve to be in the ministry.” Looking back, I understand why these comments were made and I will comment further on them in two weeks.

But on this day, I went home, locked the door behind me, flopped into my recliner and began to sob uncontrollably. “God,” I cried out in desperation, “What do I do? How do I respond? Is this person right or not? You tell me. I don’t know who to believe anymore.”

What happened next shocked me even more. God’s spirit spoke inside of me and said: “Neil, this person is absolutely right! You do not deserve to be in the ministry. But,” God’s spirit added, “You never did! You aren’t in ministry because you deserve to be. You’re in ministry because I called you to be and I’m not revoking that calling.”

But then I had other questions. Why did all of these events have to take place? Why did I have to lose so much? Why was I feeling so desperate? Two possible answers quickly emerged.

The first came from a colleague whose insights I highly valued. “Neil,” he said, “God is going to give you the opportunity to encourage and bring healing to wounded members of his family. God has something special in mind for you; be patient and let him show you what it is.”

The second answer came from the pastoral supervisor of a small church I had been asked to serve for two weeks. “This could turn into a long term commitment,” he said. “But let it happen. Don’t go in with any agenda. Just get to know and love the people and let them get to know and love you.” That was, by far, the best advice I could ever have been given. It was God’s way of letting me know that I was being given a second chance and that this was how he wanted me to spend the rest of my life. I was simply to love and serve people in his name.

In reflecting on his life, St. Paul made the following statement: “I am the least of the apostles. I am not worthy to be an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am…” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)

If there was anyone who deserved to be disqualified from any form of Christian ministry, it was St. Paul. He had done more to offend God than most of his colleagues in the Jewish religious system; and he had done it in a shorter time than anyone could have imagined.

But he was not rejected. He was given a second chance and he spent the rest of his life building up the faith he had formerly tried to destroy. He experienced, first hand, the redeeming power of God’s amazing grace. So have I, so have many of my friends and so, I would suggest, have you.

You see, no one is immune from mistakes. We all have done things we regret. But God loves us, forgive us and gives us a second chance. We must receive it graciously and use it wisely.