Do you need another chance? Luke 13

Why do bad things happen to people? In Luke 13, some people told Jesus about bad events. Roman soldiers had killed some Galileans while they were worshiping. Another time, a tower in Siloam fell and killed 18 people. The crowd wondered if these people were worse sinners and were being punished by God. Jesus said no. Bad things can happen to anyone in our broken world. We never know when our life might end. His clear message was: “Unless you repent and turn back to God, you will all perish too.” He wants us to be right with God every day. Jesus then told a story about a fig tree that grew for three years but never produced fruit. The owner wanted to cut it down, but the worker asked for one more chance to care for it and help it grow. This shows God’s mercy — He gives us many chances to change and bear good fruit in our lives. Next, Jesus healed a woman who had been bent over and suffering for 18 years. She praised God right away. But the leader of the synagogue got angry because Jesus healed her on the Sabbath day. Jesus called him a hypocrite for caring more about animals than about a suffering person. The message for us today is simple: Examine your own life. Where do you need to repent? Even if things feel like a mess, God offers you another chance right now to turn to Him and live differently.