But the difference between those who have Christ and those who don't is the measure of regret.
During the last few weeks at school, I have been teaching the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, to my sophomore English students. Although most of them still hate writing, it always presents a unique opportunity to talk about regret, opportunity, and change.
A Christmas Carol Example
"In A Christmas Carol, Stave 1, Jacob Marley pens these words: "I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?" Describe this quote and why Marley says it. Do you have any regrets in life? If so, what are they, and why do you have them?"
This is the journal prompt I use to strike up a cunning conversation in my class. While many students take the easy way out and write down simplistic details like, "I regret trying sardines," or "I regret cheating on a test," many others write down truly heavy weights they feel forced to carry.
"I regret anxiety."
"I regret not talking to my aunt before she died."
"I regret holding a grudge."
"I regret saying unkind words."
"I regret not standing up for someone when they needed it most."
"I regret cutting myself."
"I regret my eating disorder."
"I regret contemplating suicide."
What about you? Are you wearing heavy chains? Made of silver or bronze? Heavy in weight and stature? Bound to your ankles and feet like shackles in a prison cell?
The Weight of Chains
If we are honest with ourselves, I am sure that we all have things we regret in this life.
Words unsaid.
Words said.
Choices we should've made.
Choices we shouldn't have made.
And if we allow them to, these regrets will burden us. They preoccupy our minds and every inch of our thoughts. But we don't have to remain weighed down.
The Reality of Hope
As a Christian working in a public school setting, I cannot tell you how difficult it is to read and see regrets like these without having the explicit ability to tell them, "but I serve a God who is greater than all of these regrets." I cannot tell you the pain I feel when the look in their eyes is filled with so much turmoil and anguish. Like their mistakes are permanent and there is no hope.
But while I may not be able to blatantly tell them, "Jesus is the answer," I can do my best to live a life of Christ that is so much like Him that they can't help but see the Answer through me.
They can see hope.
They can see forgiveness.
They can see there is so much more to them than the regrets and mistakes they've made.
And how?
In essence, it is Christ who takes our regrets and gives us a new opportunity to live. A better way. But for this class, I try to show that no one is ever too far gone.
Do you regret cheating? Then make a change, and don't cheat again.
Do you regret not spending time with a family member who passed away? Then learn from this, and spend time with others before it is too late.
Do you regret self-harm? Know that you do not have to continue down that downtrodden path of self-destruction.
And while I may not get to explicitly state it in my English class, I hope that every single student knows there is Someone greater than every mistake they ever have, had, or ever will make, and His name is Jesus.
Personally, I regret many things in this life.
I regret cheating on tests in school.
I regret lying to my parents when I was knee-deep in an eating disorder and needed help.
I regret keeping secrets that only hurt me.
I regret keeping God's light to myself when I should've been bold enough to share it.
I regret every careless word I've ever said to my mom.
I regret caring more about perfection than learning to live.
I regret having idols and bowing to them.
I regret many regrets that often weigh down my life.
But the difference between those who have Christ and those who don't is the measure of regret.
The Measure of Regret
For those of us who are saved by Jesus, we can rejoice that He not only takes away every single regret but He gives us a fresh, white, new, clean, and pure slate. When He looks at us, He doesn't only see us without regret, but He looks beyond and within. We were His handiwork, breathed, crafted, and created in Christ Jesus' glorious wonders, and we are His. He sees all we were meant to become and all we someday will be.
For those who are not saved by Jesus, sure, they can try to achieve their own freedom from regret, but it will not last. They can choose not to sin, cut, or spout unkind words to a friend, but without the inner guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, their works will ultimately be fruitless.
While not all regrets are born from sin, 2 Corinthians 7:10 reminds us, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death" (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV).
The Measure of Eternal Life
The free gift of Jesus' blood and sacrifice brings us life. It is freeing, freedom, and rejoicing that we do not have to make the same mistakes or choices we made before. In Christ, we are new creations. The old things have passed, and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Though we may still struggle with those things, but the Spirit within us helps us change.
I truly believe that God does not wish for us to live a life of regret. He wishes for us to acknowledge that we've been washed by the blood and are saved by the only One who can truly transform our bodies, minds, and souls.
Jesus desires us to live with the mantra from 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV).
Jesus desires those of us stuck in old patterns and habits to be renewed by His grace, mercy, and never-ending forgiveness: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord...." (Acts 3:19, NIV).
Jesus desires us to know that beyond every mistake, error, sin, flaw, or fault we've ever committed, with Him, there is a great reason for hope. And what better time to internalize this message than when Hope and Peace Himself was born?
"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past, he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future, he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned" (Isaiah 9:1-2, NIV).
Agape, Amber
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
