The life of a Christian should not end in regret.
Every single person in hell right now has at least once said, “I wish I would have.” “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2)
You know what you are to be doing if indeed you have been born-again, you have the complete and inerrant instruction manual, the question is, have you been studying it, have you been searching out what it is that you are to be accomplishing for the glory of God, and are these instructions clear to you? “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5)
This is a promise, and the wise servants first and continual prayer is not how do you want me to serve you Lord but teach me to understand how to serve you. “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” (Prov. 6:23) I cannot say all or everyone, but I would suspect that nearly every person of Israel knew what their responsibilities were under the law, they were written down, in the temple they were taught, and there were no questions or doubts about it, those commandments came from the mouth of God.
I could also be wrong about this, but I would suspect that the average person that attends church knows little more of their obligation to obedience to the Lord than that they are to love their neighbor. Test yourself here, when the Lord Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) What commandments was He referring to? Can you offer any more than to love your neighbor? Perhaps love your enemies comes to mind? How about Matthew 22:37, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Anything else? I’m going to guess that some of you know Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
If you have not studied the life of the Savior, if you have not contemplated His words, then you will miss the mark when attempting to emulate His life. What of 1 Corinthians, the Book of Jude, or Romans? Were these not written “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:21) Is not 2 Timothy 3:16 true? “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” How much of the Word of God is directed to only the children of Israel, how much is for those saved in this age of grace, Jew and Gentile, what is historical and what is continuing even unto today?
The life of a Christian that ends in regret is the life that did not study to show themselves approved, that did not beg the Lord to teach them to rightly divide the words of truth, for that man would not seek instructions on how he was to serve effectively, solely for the glory of God.
“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (1 Kings 3:9) “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.” (Psalm 27:8)
Why? So they could be better Christians, or so they would understand their place in the order of the Kingdom of God? So that they would be able to speak wisdom in truth to all who asked them a reason for their faith.
If there is one truth about regrets my friends, it is the fact that it is something that happened in the past that you wish you could change. There are a lot of people in heaven who say, perhaps rather regularly, “I wish I would have.”
You can use your past to prepare as much as you are able for the future, but all any of us have is right here, right now. Try to do all that you do as best as you can for the Lord, for His glory, and perhaps instead of saying, “I wish I would have,” you will hear yourself say, “I’m glad I did.”
