Starting Over

 It’s the big game, race or whatever you have been training and preparing for but as you wake up the morning of the big event you just don’t feel like yourself. When you get to where the event will take place you don’t feel any better. As you do your event you are not doing your best and it’s showing. What you thought would be an exciting time has now turned into a not so exciting time. You have this though “if I could just do it all over again I know I would do better.” If we could just start over! I would be a better parent if I could just do it again; my marriage would be better if I could just start over. Then we read things like 5 steps to starting over at midlife, start over after divorce, starting over after 50. The strangest thing about life is there is no reverse which means there is no starting over; or is there?  In the gospel of Matthew I found something very interesting.

Matthew 9:9  And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

Matthew 9:10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

Matthew 9:11  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

I’ll hurry and get to the chase; Matthew is a tax collector and in v-11 we read that he is identified as a sinner by the religious leaders of his day. I don’t really want to see the IRS coming to my door but I wouldn’t classify them in that way. The truth is we are all sinners and we all need a savior.  Here I see that Matthew takes full advantage of the opportunity that is before him. Did you see it in V-9? Jesus said to Matthew follow me and Matthew got up and followed Jesus. That day changed Matthew’s life forever and although he didn’t get to start over from day one he did have a new start that day. How do I know that? If I could I would like to give you a few reasons why he had a new start that day. First of all we wouldn’t have known anything about that day had he not; he also gets to write the first book of the New Testament. This is what I want you to see in II Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17 it reads like this Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  A new what? Creature or creation! How new did it become? Brand New; old things passed away, no more tax collecting for Matthew his life changed. His name also changed; it maybe at the top of your page and if not it is at the beginning of the book for sure. If you will look you will see this St. know what that stands for? You got it, Saint!  Matthew went from sinner to saint because he followed Jesus. Not because he became religious, became a member of a Church, not because he said I’ll do better, give more, sacrifice more no, no , no it was because he followed Jesus.  That’s kind of how it happened in my life for one day I was headed to hell and then all of a sudden my direction changed and I started heading towards heaven and it was all because of Jesus. Now I didn’t get to write the first of anything, but because of what Jesus has done and is doing in my life I get to write and tell you about it. I know it will soon be deleted and forgotten but for the moment I get the share with you what Jesus has done for me. Now you go do the same. Have a blessed day!