People of the Second Chance

I follow close to 100 blogs. It is not that I read all of them all of the time but last night I gleaned the fields to see what wisdom in words existed. There was a bountiful harvest, almost too much for me to digest in a night. At some point, I am stuffed and it does little good to keep eating. As a writer, I figure reading is a good way to see how others write and what works and why.

One blog that has been on the menu for awhile is People of the Second Chance. I spent a good deal of time reading over the posts last night and then came back for more this morning.

As I prepare for my 20th year as a high school counselor (I am back to work tomorrow) on this final day of summer vacation, I really wanted to delve into something deeply sustaining to provide spiritual nourishment to my soul for the long year ahead. I needed to be fed so that I can feed. I try to be a hope merchant. So, I downloaded the POTSC Gracenomics book for Kindle...at $ 2.99, it cost less than a meal at Mickey D.'s and I am sure it is much better for me.

Its message of redemption is quite liberating, and it seems to be imbued with a spirit of Christ's compassion, but I have found zero Scriptural references either in the book or on the non-blog posts of the website. I am not sure what that means. Forgiveness in the Bible is definitely considered first a top down, trickle-down, reality. God in Christ has forgiven us. More, in the words of Huey Long, "Hi Poppa Lowrum." I know that Long was not a fan of either the Republicans or D.C. Democrats as he saw them as both corrupted by power and privilege.

It is true, whether we are Liberal or Conservative, neither side is particularly graceful. We just hate different people. So the call for second chances is profoundly a Christian endeavor, I am just concerned that any a book or any movement that does not keep Christ central will ultimately turn apathetic or cynical. God is the only source of Grace; human elixirs in the end run dry or bitter.

Yet, I can see how the world might view Christians more as adversaries than advocates. We are really poisoning the well through our animosity-driven politics. So, maybe mentioning Christ just is too controversial for a Christian ethos publication which is truly a sad state of affairs.

Saul of Tarsus became the Apostle Paul and that second chance brought us a full revelation of what Grace truly meant in both word and deed. We forgive because we have been forgiven. And we are not to forget or fail to mention it.





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