The Land of Beginning Again

More than a hundred years ago, Louisa Fletcher wrote a poem that easily resonates with all of us.

I wish that there were some wonderful place

Called the land of Beginning Again,

Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches

And all of our poor selfish grief

Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door,

And never put on again.

It wouldn’t be possible not to be kind

In the land of Beginning Again;

And the ones we misjudged and the ones

Whom we grudged

The moments of victory here

Would find in the grasp of our loving handclasp

More than penitent lips could explain.

For what had been hardest, we’d know had been best

And what had seemed loss would be gain;

For there isn’t a sting that will not take wing

When we’ve faced it and laughed it away;

And I think that the laughter is most what we’re after

In the land of Beginning Again.

Think of it:

for besetting sins to be gone …

for forgiveness to be granted …

for kindness to be restored …

for the grip of grief and the hold of heartache to be broken …

for friendship to be returned …

for laughter, finally, to be shared again …

Who would not want this?

Those who would say that they don’t, those who say that they’ve lived their life without regret, are either saints of the highest order or fools well on their way to the lowest region of hell.

According to the Bible, sin is stupid, and not to see that is more stupid. No regret?

To come to the judgment without a clue, without excuse, and without shame, is to fail in this life and be cast away in the afterlife.

That’s why all of our lives, like pencils, need erasers.

One of the biblical definitions of sin is to miss the mark; so, yes, in that way I suppose sin can be regarded as a mistake.

But sin is certainly more than a mistake. We make mistakes in math; a teacher can correct those.

But sin damages human relationships, destroys human relationships, separates us from God. And no teacher, certainly no eraser, can expunge our offenses against a holy God.

Jesus knew that, so he didn’t just forgive our sin, he eradicated it! Annihilated it! Obliterated it! Jesus paid the debt!

This world’s justice sends the convicted to prison where they pay the debt, then releases them to society with the label ex-con.

Heaven’s justice, should that be gained, forever labels them righteous—a far better outcome! No-ex anything retained in their identity

So to have these once ruined relationships restored, to have two souls reunited who did this to each other, has got to be one of the deepest satisfactions imaginable.

The laughter this produces won’t be a frivolous, giddy, silly laughter, but a laughter that binds hearts that will never be broken again (Romans 12:15).

Just like old times?

No, way better!