ANOTHER NAME By Sally I. Kennedy

....how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Matthew 18:21

My sister was named for our aunt. She never liked her name very much. When she began writing, she changed the spelling of her name from the male version to the female, but ended up going back to the original. Performers usually take a stage name. Many authors have a pseudonym. Some people add a name, like at confirmation.

God has many names which describe facets of His character. Jehovah Rapha (The Lord who heals) and Jehovah Jireh, (The Lord our provider) are a couple. He has another name I have given Him. Jehovah the God of Another Chance.

The other day on the phone I got my feelings hurt by a candid comment. He apologized, wanted another chance to rephrase what he’d said. I was quickly weighing the pros and cons, while that little voice inside was saying, “YES, give him another chance.”

How many times in just one day do I want somebody else to allow me another chance? For something I have done - or not done. Mahatma Ghandi is quoted as saying, “If we practice an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, soon the whole world will be blind and toothless.”

In the Bible there is an account of Peter asking Jesus just how many times he should forgive someone. Peter thought he was being so magnanimous by offering to do that not once, not twice, but seven times. Seven is a number symbolic of perfect, complete, or whole, so Peter felt sure he was being more than generous. Jesus gently
corrected his thinking when He said not seven times, but seventy times seven. In other words, no number large enough to express how many times.

The Lord is always willing to forgive us when we mess up and make mistakes. There is no set time when He says, “That’s it! No more chances for you!” Yes, He has many names, including The God of ALWAYS Another Chance.