Does God Give 2nd Chances?

May 10 2005

Question:

I almost got killed in an accident at work several months ago, and I’ve been wondering what it all means.  What do you think?

Billy Graham’s answer:

The real question you should be asking is this: What was God trying to say to you through this accident?  What is He trying to teach you right now?  You see, it wasn’t “luck” that saved you – it was God. He loves you, and He yearns for you to love Him in return. And now He has given you a second chance – another opportunity to open your heart to Christ and let Him put your feet on a different path.  Someday you will die, and it would be tragic if you enter eternity without Christ.

Jen’s response:

I have said it before, religion is a business and their stock and trade is human suffering and self doubt.  They claim to have answers to your questions, but in reality, but the purveyors of religion are human beings just like you and don’t have any more answers to the big questions then you do.

 Further, the idea that God was trying to say something to you through the accident and “he saved you” is for some reason offensive to me.  This is the typical Job scenario.  He causes you pain and suffering, but he does it because he loves you.  Isn’t that the rationale that abusive individuals use when they hurt people they claim to love?   

The rational answer to what happened and what it means is this.  You had an accident.  These things happen.  Some accidents are completely freak random things, and others result from human error.  If it was human error, then the lesson is to be more careful next time.  If it was random, then consider yourself lucky that you survived, or thank the safety procedures in place at your work site for saving your life.

 The other big lesson that you can learn from this is that you are indeed mortal.  You will die at some point.  For many people this is terrifying, but it doesn’t have to be.  Accepting your mortality frees you up to really make the most of this life, here and now, and not wait for a second chance.  The reality is that there aren’t any second chances.  You have only this one life and so use your time wisely.  Love fully, live fully, and try to leave the world a better place.  If you do this, then when your time comes to die, you will have no regrets about how you chose to live.