Golfers take mulligans. If you hit a terrible shot, a good friend may say, “Take a mulligan.” A mulligan is a second chance to get it right. If God gave you a second chance, what would you do with it? Think for a moment, about the worst mistake you have ever made. You get a do-over. Would you change your behavior?
I only ask because not everybody wants to repent. This is why the mob seized Paul and tried to kill him. He preached repentance to Gentiles and Jews, alike. But the crowd in the temple that day did not want to repent. They would have killed Paul, if they could have.
“But God . . .” Paul knew he was only alive because God intervened through the Roman soldiers to save his life that day. More, Paul saw that God’s greater purpose in life did not spare him from ever suffering. When people were at their worst, God was at his best. The Messiah also suffered and rose from the dead. Paul could now see this in the scriptures. This was always God’s plan.
God gave Paul a second chance, and he did not waste it. When we fully appreciate God’s grace, we repent of our bad choices and go a different direction. The Shaker Hymn explains repentance so well: “When true simplicity is gained, to bow and to bend we will not be ashamed. To turn, turn will be our delight, till by turning, turning, we come round right.” Do not waste your mulligan!
