I have heard people say it time and time again, “If I could go back, I would do things differently.” Just like most people, I hate thinking about the sin that has been in my life. I hate knowing that I ever hurt or disappointed other people. I also hate knowing that I sinned against my God. On a good day, when I think about the things of the past, I stop and praise God that I am no longer living the kind of life characteristic of me in the past. However, on the bad days, when my faith is shaken, I can find myself dwelling in the past and in regret. I believe there is something that we all need to remember when we find ourselves dwelling in regret.
As Christians, we need to remember the God Who we serve and the forgiveness He so graciously offers. I know there are those who try to escape any personal responsibility for sin, and I hope these individuals will repent and come back to the Lord. Yet, we also have many of our brothers and sisters in Christ who struggle with regret and guilt even when they have done everything that they need to do in order to be forgiven. I think we all, and especially those who struggle with things like this, need to remember that we do not have to live with guilt. While there may be things for which we were once guilty, for which, therefore, we may experience earthly consequences, we do not have to live with guilt before God. In 2 Corinthians 7:10 and 1 John 1:9, we can see how to get one’s relationship back into good standing with God.
On top of not having to live in guilt, we also do not have to dwell in regret. That does not mean we forget everything we have ever done. In fact, remembering sin in our past can help us remain humble as we live for God. Yet, dwelling in regret and guilt holds us back from living the Christian life that we ought to live. Do we really believe God when He says He will forgive us? I think at times we fail to grab hold of the salvation that has been offered to us because we are still scared of not being good enough. I think it also scares us to give up control to anybody other than ourselves.
The reality is that we are not good enough. That’s why we needed Christ. That is not a statement meant to devalue us as Christians. God knew that we would struggle and sin, and that is why He offers us a way back through His Son. It is amazing to serve a God Who loves us so much that He gave His Son to die for us as sinners. It is also such a great blessing as Christians to be part of the church and to be surrounded by people who want to see us come back when we have sinned (James 5:16; Galatians 6:1). Let us no longer let guilt and regret control our lives, but let us instead continue to give our lives to Christ and praise God for the forgiveness that we have in Him.
