Don’t you love that little button in your word processing program that allows you to undo any keystrokes you’ve made or actions you’ve taken that turn out to be mistakes? And for those of us who have DVRs don’t you appreciate the way they allow us to rewind what we’re watching on TV so we can see something that interests us over and over again?

The problem is that we can get used to this ability to “rewind” and “undo” and assume that we can treat real life in this way as well.

Just the other morning I was out for my morning walk. I turned a corner just in time to see a waste managagement vehicle (garbage truck) loading some big item that a homeowner had apparently requested be taken away into its cavernous bowels. It was really none of my business but I was curious as to what discarded item the truck had just swallowed. For a split second I sort of mentally “reached” for the “rewind” or “undo” button in my brain! Has this happened to you yet? Have you ever caught yourself thinking, if for only a moment, that you’d like to do just hit that magical button and have a go at a redo of some kind?

Alas, there is no such button in real life. We can’t simply undo something we’ve said or done, can we? It’s this fact that makes God’s grace and the forgiveness he offers us on the basis of it so very important.

1 John 1:8-9 contain the familiar words:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

While this is not exactly an undo–the temporal consequeces of our sin remain, consequences we still must live with–it is a new beginning. I often remind people I’m counseling or simply encouraging conversationally that we serve a God of new beginnings. He never tires of providing truly penitent people with the opportunity to begin anew, to have a fresh opportunity to get things right. The Gospels are filled with such stories.

So, on the one hand, we should be careful how we live, fully aware that there is no “undo” button that will magically make our mistakes disappear. On the other hand, isn’t it good to know that we serve a God of new beginnings? Do you need one today?

Something to think about.