Maybe you have a "banged-up" life. You've been treated poorly, you've been made to feel that you never measure up or that you're a loser, people have undervalued you and passed you by, or maybe you've ended up pretty hard and angry inside.
Have you heard the story of one of the most famous race horses of all time? It was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and then a major motion picture - the story of Seabiscuit. While many of us may not be excited about horse racing, the story, set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, illustrates some pretty inspiring things.
Seabiscuit was the son of a champion, but he was definitely not like his father. He had been forced to run with better horses so they would gain confidence by beating him. When he raced, he did what he was trained to do - lose. Because of the poor treatment Seabiscuit received, he became an angry, almost uncontrollable horse. Then he was given a chance by a trainer that many considered to be too old and a jockey that most thought was too big - a man blind in one eye and bitter from his parents' abandonment.
Seabiscuit thrived in the care of people who believed in him and he became one of the greatest horses of all time. The trainer saw in him something that others had missed. He said, when Seabiscuit's eventual owner was deciding whether to buy this apparent loser, "You don't throw a life away just because it's been banged up a little." When the trainer wanted to fire his jockey, the owner reminded him, "You don't throw a life away just because it's been banged up a little."
Thankfully, there is someone who has never thrown away a banged up life, who sees beyond what's on the outside to the wounds on the inside and the potential He built into you when He made you. Jesus is your hope of a new beginning where the future doesn't have to be just an extension of a broken past.
In Isaiah 61:1 and 3, the Bible says of Jesus, "The Lord...has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners ... to provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes...and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Jesus has done that for millions of banged up people for two thousand years, and He can do it for you because He died on the cross for every sin ever done by you or against you. The Bible says of His death on the cross: "He carried our sorrows...He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities...and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5).
With someone who loves you so unconditionally and so completely, you don't have to ever again trash yourself, trash other people, or trash your future. You can tear up that name tag that identifies you as "victim" and replace it with the new identity Jesus gives you, "child of the King," if you'll surrender the steering wheel of your life and put the rest of your life in the hands of the man who died for you.
If you've never done that and you want to begin your own personal relationship with Jesus, would you tell Him that right now with all your heart. You can be sure you have begun your personal relationship with Jesus Christ by going to the website www.yoursforlife.net or by calling toll free 877-741-1200.
Jesus, who is God's one and only Son, sacrificed Himself to become the ultimate banged-up life for you. However much you have been betrayed, you can trust Him. However much you have been hurt and rejected, you can count on His "never leave you" love. Your new beginning can start this very day.