A God of a Second Chance

I saw on the news that today marks the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Two days later, on Aug. 8, 1945, a B-29 dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, effectively ending World War II.

I remember reading an interesting account about a Japanese civilian who had been in Hiroshima on the day the bomb was dropped, and survived the blast. He decided that there was no future in Hiroshima, and the next day, he moved. To Nagasaki. Of course, a day later, he experienced his second atomic bomb!

The article I read reported that after surviving his second nuclear blast, he did not talk much about the experience. I can well understand his reticence. The old line, "out of the frying pan into the fire" surely was his experience.

I have tried to imagine what it would have been like to have made the decision he made. You have just gone through a horror unlike anything you've ever experienced. Somehow, you lived through it. So, you move away, hoping never to experience another, and relocate yourself right onto the target of a similar horror. My guess is he probably never felt confident about another decision he made the rest of his life.

Though some would say this guy had the ultimate in "bad luck," I'd say this was one man who was truly blessed! How many people could say they lived in two cities that had atomic bombs dropped on them--and survived! It's a story of a second--and third--chance at life. I don't know how his life played out, but I sure hope he made the most of the extra opportunities that were providentially given to him by this survival.

God is still in the business of giving second chances, even if we don't see something as obvious as a nuclear explosion to recognize it. That's what the gospel is all about--that Jesus Christ paid the price so that we could have a new beginning.

The apostle wrote that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). By His grace, God delights in giving us a fresh start. Be sure you make the most of yours!

I'm praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at Shelby Crossings.

--Pastor Ken

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