Life-spark: God offers fresh shots at life. – John 1:12-16
I admit it. I’ve been known to “take a mulligan” in golf. A mulligan is a gracious second chance – a new shot at doing things right. And although a mulligan represents ‘cheap grace’ to scratch golfers, there is a mulligan mentioned in the Bible that wasn’t cheap at all.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14, NIV
John the messenger says that he and his fellow Christ-followers saw the glory of God is Jesus. I believe God’s glory to be His brilliant, available aliveness. Ireneus, the early church father, said an amazing thing: “The glory of God is a man fully alive.” Jesus became one of us so that we could become fully alive in Him.
Jesus came to give His life so He could offer you and me a mulligan – a fresh shot at life. Anyone who believes He is who He says He is (HE called Himself “the Life”) and receives His gift of deep, unending aliveness, is born into His eternally alive family.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God … John 1:12, NIV I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases this in the Message version: “He was made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.”
‘Reborn’ people has been born back toward who God had in mind when He wired them together in their mother’s wombs. Being alive is being the true me, the child-of-God me. Being alive is a process of becoming more and more genuine. And I get another shot at it when my prior attempt goes out of bounds. It’s undeserved favor. It’s grace. But it’s not cheap grace. Truth is, us getting a new life cost Him His life.
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16, NIV
One minute Life-action: Your turn, think of just one of the many times God gave you a mulligan. Don’t be shy, comment below and let others see they’re not alone. You don’t have to be specific, i.e. “I got a second chance at a relationship with my brother”, “I’m sober for the 4th time”.
Why not thank Him again for the special mulligan’s he’s given us.