Second Chances
Second Chances
Like most people, I rarely watch horse races. While 15 million enjoy the annual Kentucky Derby, according to Statista, just 8% of Americans are avid horse racing fans. Unless you are an enthusiastic follower, it is unlikely you know about a fascinating horse race that was run over ten years ago. I only learned of the 2013 Brooklyn Handicap years later when searching for a sermon illustration.
The Brooklyn Handicap is a 1½ mile race at Belmont Park in New York. In the 2013 event, most of the race was downright embarrassing for a 10-year-old horse named Calidoscopio. A horse named Percussion led most of the race. At the mid-point, Calidoscopio was 22 lengths behind the leaders. The track announcer said, “he was way out of the race right now.” At that moment, the words “right now” were accurate, but the horse then staged an incredible comeback. Calidoscopio came from 22 lengths behind to win by a length.
This race illustrates something significant: it reveals that sometimes, those everyone has written off are not actually out of the race. Many people feel they have nothing to offer and want to give up; however, God often uses defeated people in ways that surprise them.
If this sounds too good to be true, consider the stories in scripture of how God has used people others thought were finished. In the book of Genesis, God elevated Joseph to power only after his brothers sold him into slavery. The book of Exodus tells how young Moses left Egypt after killing an Egyptian, only to see God use him to deliver the Israelites when he was 80. Samson made numerous bad choices, yet God declared him a man of faith in Hebrews 11.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of God using someone unexpectedly is the story of how Saul became the Apostle Paul. On Saul’s way to persecute Christians, God radically changed him. Scripture records the story this way, “As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’ ‘Who are you, lord?’ Saul asked. And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’” (Acts 9:3-6, NLT)
The miracle of God taking the early church’s most passionate persecutor and turning him into its most powerful spokesman should encourage anyone who assumes God cannot use them. God offers second chances to people like us whom others may have written off long ago.
To watch this extraordinary race, use this link: Calidoscopio incredible come from behind win brooklyn handicap 6-7-2013 (youtube.com)