Ultimately, regret is both gift and challenge. We make mistakes and we learn as we grow. We fall and we rise. It is all part of the abundant life that God desires for us. Our faith gives us a foundation based on God’s promise of transformation. Our Savior invites us into abundant life so that we can live fully in the grace of God. Grace is vital because we are flawed. Grace makes us acutely aware that sometimes our decisions lead us down a regrettable road. But thankfully, no matter where our paths take us, God’s mercy intersects with regret and our faith journey flourishes.
God uses our life experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly – to shape us into a sharper image of the resurrected Christ. As is written in 2 Corinthians: “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (3:18). As people of faith, we are lifted above guilt and shame by God’s grace.
This message is excerpted from “The gift and challenge of having regret” by Angela T. Khabeb in the October 2018 Café online magazine. Today we commemorate William Tyndale, translator, martyr, 1536.
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