There is a football movie I love to watch called “The Replacements” starring Gene Hackman and Keanu Reeves. A NFL team goes on strike and officials decide to hire men who, for one reason or another, had lost their dream and chance of a successful football career. It's a movie about second chances; a shot at fulfilling a dream of making a touchdown in a playoff game; being noticed when you think you're invisible; or rectifying a rookie mistake in a playoff game.
Anyone who has lost a dream or lost a part of themselves understands the concept behind this movie - we all want a second chance to correct a life-altering mistake. A broken heart leads us to try and replace the one we loved with replacements that never make the mark, leaving us to grieve over what was and what could've been. An addict replaces drug after drug trying to replace horrors and mistakes in their lives. We use material possessions to fill a void in our hearts that can never be filled. These are all just replacements. What we all really want is a time machine to go back and rectify our mistakes; we simply want a second (or third … or fourth … or fifth) chance.
While it would be nice to have a DeLorean with a flux capacitor to go back in time, we can't. It is only in fiction that it's possible. But there is one who always gives us a second chance and fills the emptiness in our hearts with His light and love. God created every human heart to have a longing for something greater than can be found in anything but Him. He left room for Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is only by accepting Christ into our lives and surrendering ourselves that we find our second chance. No matter what mistakes we have made in life, no matter how badly our situation is, Christ accepts us with open arms and remembers our sins no more. We are forgiven. We have a second chance to live life more abundantly in Christ than we could have possibly imagined.
The choice is ours; we can either use the replacements of the world, or we can find ourselves in Jesus.