Parents understand the idea of second chances. For that matter, every child understands the idea of second chances. In the parent-child relationship, second chances are given over and over as a child grows and learns and journeys toward adulthood. Thankfully my parents were generous with their second chances!

Our God is a God of second chances. Isn’t that a comforting thought? Over and over we find in Scripture examples of those to whom God gives second chances. We see Jonah given a second chance after he ran from God’s plan. David, a man after God’s own heart, receives a second chance even after committing adultery and murder. Peter, after denying he knows Jesus, is given a second chance when Jesus asks him to “feed my sheep.” We see God giving a second chance to Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and Paul.

And in today’s text, we see the God of second chances as he encounters the Israelites.

In Ezekiel 36:22-32, we discover God’s heart for second chances. Even as the Israelites have completely forgotten God and neglected his commands and desires for them, he makes a promise of profound proportion.

“I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:25, 26).

A New Heart
God, through the power of his forgiveness, transforms the hearts of those who follow him. His promise is that no longer will their hearts be hard and cold to his love. He will renew their hearts to receive his love and to love him in return. He will give them hearts that will actually want to follow him and obey his ways.

From our heart comes passion. When the heart is hardened and is turned from God, the passion that flows from it is directed away from God. When we acknowledge and receive the forgiveness of God, he transforms our heart—he makes it new. And the passion that flows from the renewed heart is directed toward God and his cause.

A new heart cares about the things God cares about. A new heart loves those whom God loves. A new heart beats for the same things as God’s heart beats. A new heart is what gives life to the follower of Christ.

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19).

A New Spirit
Not only does God promise a new heart, he also promises a new Spirit. The heart gives life, but the Spirit gives us power. The Spirit is the breath of God within us giving us the power to love, worship, serve, and live for him. And as followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, helping us to follow him closely and giving us the power to obey his commands.

“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:27).

A New Respect
God’s forgiveness, as great and unfathomable as it is, comes with these two life-altering benefits. And, I believe, a new heart and a new spirit should produce a new respect toward God.

Knowing God has completely forgiven my sins, that he has renewed my heart and my spirit and directed them toward him and his ways, produces within me a new appreciation and respect for God.

When I was a child, I could neither fully understand nor appreciate the second chances my parents extended toward me. Now that I’m a parent, I have the eyes to see the love and grace and forgiveness my parents extended over and over to me. And with that awareness comes a respect for them that I did not always have.

I believe the same is true in our relationship with our heavenly Father. As he, through his grace and forgiveness, transforms our hearts, spirits, and lives, we are able to step back and witness firsthand the power of his love for us. And in us it needs to produce a new respect and appreciation for our Father who loves us in spite of who we are and what we have done. He loves us because we belong to him . . . and because he truly is the God of second chances.

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*All Scriptures are from the New International Version of the Bible, unless otherwise indicated.