The Principal's Pen

Working in our Dunsborough 5/6 class last week, I saw the students using their small whiteboards to try out new words during the dictation exercise. They would ask me "Is this correct?" and then rub it out and start again if they had made a mistake. It got me thinking about the idea of a "clean slate". Of course, writing on slates in school was a long time ago, but these small whiteboards give students an opportunity to start over. How many times do we want the same opportunities in our daily life?

If we make a mistake do we get to start again with a clean slate? It usually involves apologising, seeking forgiveness, making amends, but hopefully this all leads us to a new start. Students, parents, school staff, community members - we all benefit from being offered the grace to begin again. For that to work, we also need to be ready to offer the same grace to others!

In Second Corinthians Paul refers to us being a new creation if we belong to God's kingdom through Jesus. This is the ultimate "clean slate" and the model we can use when offering and receiving grace in our community.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)