REGRET: And a Dog, a Horse and a CartNäide

“You smell!” I bump the border collie dog perched beside me on the wagon seat. My stocky chestnut mare pulls the wagon at an easy pace. The scent of eucalyptus gum and the hint of damp surround us. The bush beckons, and I go willingly, leaving our wheel-rim tracks and a dusty wake behind us.

If only we could leave regrets behind in a dusty wake …

Back when the Apostle Paul was known as Saul, he was a terrorist. He hated Jesus and was determined to destroy the Lord’s followers, persecuting “this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in prisons” (Acts 22:4). After Jesus converted him, Paul said, “I am the worst of sinners; the least of the apostles and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). That sounds much like regret.

It almost seems a contradiction when Paul also said, “Brothers and sisters ... one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). How could Paul forget his serious crimes against his now fellow Christians and move past the staggering regret he surely must have felt?

Only one power could accomplish this miracle—God’s grace. God’s forgiveness and love enabled Paul to live as a clean man with a clean conscience, confident in the calling God gave him.

We can’t overcome regret burdens any other way than to accept God’s love and forgiveness. Do you struggle to accept this? Is forgiving yourself an obstacle? Do you think, “Look how I messed up. I knew better. I failed. I am a failure.” You’re not on your own there. Regret is a common companion of believers because we all fall miserably short of God’s glory and holiness.

The memories of what you and I have done wrong may last, but God wants to take the pain from those memories forever and to grow wisdom in us.

Wherever I travel in these backblocks, I drop fruit tree seeds in the bush. I do so knowing that God can cause good things to grow in the path behind us, no matter how rugged and difficult the landscape of our past has been.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15