1-20-20<\/p>\n
Regrets, I\u2019ve had a few. Yes, something in common with Frank Sinatra. But those of us without regrets simply have not lived long, or even well. It\u2019s part of life.<\/p>\n
We seldom regret things that have happened<\/em> to us, but rather things we did or didn\u2019t do; opportunities we could have seized; what ifs<\/em>; personal woulda-coulda-shouldas; errors of omission, commission, even remission.<\/p>\n Theodore Roosevelt, in a philosophical moment, once wrote: It is not being in the Dark House, but having left it, that counts<\/em>. What we do with regrets can determine what kind of life we lead \u2013 I refer to our emotional equilibrium. And, of course, our spiritual serenity.<\/p>\n I have chosen, for the video clip below, a performance of the old \u201cplantation spiritual\u201d first printed in a hymnal in 1899: \u201cWere You There When They Crucified My Lord?\u201d The haunting lament of the Black church asks a rhetorical question. Yes\u2026 you were<\/em> there. We all<\/em> were there, because our sins sent Jesus to the cross.<\/p>\n He went there willingly, yes; but it was to suffer punishment we deserve. Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. You? Our sin-consciousness should<\/em> make us tremble\u2026 and be filled with profound regrets!<\/p>\n However, a message of the cross is that we should come away from our culpability in the Passion of Jesus trembling for joy, ultimately. That plantation song is an Easter tradition, but it is a shame if we do not meditate on it all year long. It\u2019s not just for Easter. On the contrary.<\/p>\n After Jesus died, Judas was so filled with regrets that he hanged himself. After denying Jesus, Peter instead was transformed by the Resurrection, and led a reformed, joyful, powerful life.<\/p>\n We have those choices to make, about everything that causes regret in our lives. I confess that I am very jealous of one of God\u2019s attributes \u2013 that He is able to take our sins, or anything else, and throw them as into a \u201csea of forgetfulness.\u201d Can God Almighty not<\/em> do something??? Yes, when He chooses, He can forget things, in the process of forgiving us!<\/p>\n Good trick, Heavenly Father. Beyond our abilities, of course: we are not God. So it remains for us, rather, to deal with our regrets. Not to be warped\u2026 not let them haunt us.<\/p>\n My friend Kent Kraning is a pastor at Friends Church in Yorba Linda CA, and he recently wrote a book about parenting \u2013 more, about father-son relationships; but even more, fairly overflowing with wisdom about family life overall \u2013 and he asked me to lend an editorial eye to it. It is called Dirt Bombs<\/em>, from one of the book\u2019s anecdotes of many stories that resonate. Stay alert on Amazon for it.<\/p>\n Anyway, Kent wrote a casual line in the book that had great impact when I read it. I would nominate it for plaques on family room walls, bumper strips, or Bible bookmarks. It is a better single sentence than my whole essay here, I think:<\/p>\n Swim toward tomorrow, or you will drown in yesterday<\/em>.<\/p>\n Have you made mistakes? Learn from them<\/em>. Do you have regrets? Don\u2019t repeat those things you regret<\/em>. Is there something you think God can\u2019t forgive in your life? News bulletin: You\u2019re wrong. He aches for the chance to forgive<\/em>.<\/p>\n You might come face to face with Jesus, and have feelings that you are unworthy, and regrets that you might have failed Him. For a moment you may tremble, tremble, tremble. But then, as He will tell you if you will only listen, you can rejoice for the forgiveness and new life He offers. You will tremble, tremble, tremble in joy.<\/p>\n And \u2013 even if the current seems strongly against you at times \u2013 swim toward tomorrow!<\/p>\n + + +<\/p>\n