Fresh Starts for the Asking

Something happens in me when I smell freshly sharpened pencils! I don’t smell that much anymore now that most of us are working and studying in an electronic world, but every so often, I’ll catch that scent in a workroom or around my house. When I do, my mind transports me back to a day when I walked into my first school. Everything was new–a new town, a new school, a new experience, and new responsibility.

I often wish that the rest of life could work like school years, that at the end of each, the slate is washed clean–no mistakes left, no homework undone. Yet, that is exactly what God gave to Israel centuries ago. He gave them a yearly offering experience called the Day of Atonement. That was like a “one-year-eraser.” And on that day they celebrated. They had a fresh start.

In the Gospel, we get a fresh start, but much more. When the Holy Spirit moves into our lives, He brings with Him something wonderful: power. We have the power to make different choices, embrace different hopes and dreams. We have power because we have direct access to the Lord.

Kids across the area are starting over. I know, because I have seen more “1st Day” than I have time to review. It’s a new tradition that celebrates the fresh start.  And the Gospel is our celebration that Jesus wiped our record clean and gave us a fresh start in God’s sight.  Sin is forgiven, status is changed, identity is redeemed, and the end of the story is rewritten.

So, friends, celebrate today.  Take a picture, strike a pose, smile and chuckle over the love that Christ has freely poured over your life.  That fresh start is worth celebrating!