New Beginnings

From My Perspective - - -

Words such as Failure and Disqualified have a heart-piercing affect upon one. The other side to this is the thought – Is All Failure and Disqualification Final? Is there any possibility of one having hope of being reinstated and/or having a second chance? Businesses on occasion file for Bankruptcy and seek for time to Reorganize. Many companies have come out of Bankruptcy and were viable once again. Can a person who tried and failed have hope of being “reorganized” and becoming useful and profitable once again? Can one who was Counsel to the President of the United States and who was sentenced to prison for a crime committed be recovered and restored to a constructive and useful life and ministry? Can one who tried to minister and failed be relegated to oblivion or can he be recovered and granted a new beginning for constructive and vital ministry once again?

In his Breakpoint Devotional, Chuck Colson writes about “Admission of Failure” with a sub-title “Corrections In Crisis”: “Thirty-three years ago, after serving seven months for my role in the Watergate scandal, I walked out of prison a free man. Not entirely free however, because I just could not get out of my mind the men I had met in prison-the hundreds of thousands like them in prisons across the country. So, in 1977…I started Prison Fellowship. Little could I have imagined back then that Prison Fellowship would one day be the largest Christian outreach to prisoners in the world….” Chuck Colson pondered further: “Why was the United States a virtual Petri dish for growing criminals? It was not until I read the landmark 1977 study called The Criminal Personality that I was able to begin to fully appreciate what was going on. The study's authors…rebutted the conventional wisdom that crime was caused by environment-like poverty and racism. It was caused, they said, not by that, but by individuals making wrong moral choices. So the solution to crime, they said, was "the conversion of the wrongdoer to a more responsible lifestyle." Then it hit me. Our entire penal system was seeking an institutional solution to a moral problem…” Most are aware that Prison Fellowship has had an effective ministry in providing a message of hope for the hopeless and seeing failures become successes by the grace of God.

In I Corinthians 9:24-27, the Apostle Paul writes: “Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” Disqualified is such a harsh and painful word. I can still visualize our son in High School Swimming Competition trying hard to win – but – he had trouble with the turns in the pool. The judge’s whistle blew and a finger was pointed and the sound was “DQ” – disqualified. But that was one event in many! Were there other whistles, finger pointed and the “DQ” heard? Yes! But with renewed effort, there came the day when the whistle was not blown, and the finger was not pointed, and the “DQ” was not heard. Instead, he and three other swimmers had set the Relay Team Record – a record that has stood for many years.

What if at the first “DQ” our son was removed from the swim team? What if he had never been given another opportunity to try again? What if there had been condemnation for his failure and disqualification? What if there had been no second chance? What if people only remembered his failures and critiqued him on his past effort? What if he had been denied a New Beginning? But – the coach worked with him and his failure became a success. Isn’t that what we should do with one another – not magnify Failure – but – give ourselves to help one get a New Beginning – moving from Failure to Success!

Consider these things with me - - - and let us help others regain their footing with a new beginning as they move from Failure to Success. That’s what I want to do for others! Will you do likewise?