It all happened so fast that even trained professionals had a hard time figuring out what exactly happened. Finally, the official walked to the middle of the football field, turned on a microphone, and announced to the fans, “The previous play is under further review.”

People in booths with monitors and access to the latest technology will watch the play from all camera angles.  They will use slow motion and stop the play to get an exact look at what happened. Then, after a couple of minutes, the replay officials arrive at their decision, and the man on the field announces it to the fans. 

How many times have I wished I could stop my life and say, “The previous interaction is under further review?” There are things in my life, marriage, parenting, work, and Church that I wish I had time to review in detail before moving forward.  But alas, life does not come with the option of a booth review. 

Before instant replays were a part of the game, there were so many blown calls.  This led to many questions, angry participants, critics, division, and sportscasters calling for a change.  The goal of the replay was to make the game better and please everyone involved. 

Unfortunately, since life doesn’t have a review plan, feelings get hurt, stories get retold negatively, division occurs, and people are angry over what happened.  The result is that we need to develop a plan to review our actions regularly.  We need to spend a few quiet moments and think through all we have said and done at the end of the day. 

We cannot go back and change the past, but I imagine if you spent a little time in further review, you would become a person who says, “I am sorry” more often.  A regular part of your conversations will be, “Please forgive me.” This will also lead us to be more gracious people because we will see how much grace we need ourselves.  Finally, it will help us to appreciate all we have in Jesus. 

Mistakes are always made; how you handle them after the fact is a true sign of your character.