Slip Forward

At the 2006 Chicago Marathon, Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya barely won. He ran a good race at two hours, seven minutes, and 35 seconds. But the last few feet, Cheruiyot slipped and fell across the finish line. A race official said, "Luckily for him, he slipped completely forward."

In the race of life, we want to slip forward. We all are going to mess up in this Christian life. We are going to have our missteps. We are going to say the wrong things and do the wrong things. But there is a difference between that and living in a pattern of sin. When we sin, stumble, and fall short, if we will ask God to forgive us and then learn from our mistakes, we can slip forward.

Slipping forward means learning from the wrongs we have done and hopefully not doing them again. But if we go out and make the same mistakes again and again, then we are fools.

Maybe you feel that you’ve messed up in life. Maybe you’ve done things you regret. Now what? Now is the time for a new beginning. It is never too late to say, "I am sorry, God, and I want to get back into the race of life. I am sorry for that bad decision. Now I want to change it. I am sorry for those wrong things I have done. I want to make up for them. Lord, forgive me. Give me another chance."

We serve a God of second chances . . . and third chances . . . and on it goes. But you have to admit your sin. Don’t make excuses for it. Don’t blame other people for it. Learn from your past and make a fresh start as you recommit your life to the Lord.