Golfers will tell you about the “mulligan.” In golfer-speak, it’s a second chance to take a shot, a do-over for those of us who didn’t hit the ball rightly the first time. “The first swing didn’t count. I’ll give you a mulligan.”

If only life came with a mulligan. Harmful words spoken would be erased. Poor judgement, angry actions, your petty, selfish behavior would all be forgotten in the wake of the mulligan. But though we must live with the consequences of our sin, God has a better idea!

Ours is a God of grace, a God of everlasting mulligans, who looks at us through His Son’s death on the cross and while He doesn’t dismiss our sins with a shrug, He wipes them clean with costly forgiveness in Jesus. He gives us endless opportunities to “do over.” Thank God!