"We regret to inform you that . . . ."
Those six words have meant heartache and sorrow and disappointment to multitudes of people. From the family of a soldier lost in war, to a job applicant who was not hired, to a person learning about a terminal illness . . . . the words "We regret to inform you" have always left a cold chill.
I was wondering the other day about whether I had any regrets about being a Christian. Were there any real regrets during my fifty years of Christian service? Well, I came up with a few that I would like to share with you.
First, I regret waiting so long to become aware of the worldwide scope of the love of God,that His concerns were as much for the Chinese and the Africans as for me and mine, and that I could become individually and personally involved in reaching the world for Christ.
Second, I regret not praying bigger prayers. I regret not praying more often, more specifically,and more intensely for the worldwide activities of men and women daily involved in the doing of this ministry.
Third, I regret that I sat on my posterior as much as I did. I regret spending so much time talking and thinking and wondering about doing something when I should have just stood on my two feet and gone and did whatever the task was to do.
Fourth, I regret that my heart was not more often broken for a lost world. I regret that I was so casual about using tracts and scriptures and personal notes and that my witness was eclipsed at times by the activities at hand.
Lastly, I regret not telling Jesus more often that I love Him and want to serve Him through the good times and the bad. I regret not accepting the hard times without complaining and for always going to Tarshish when God wanted me in Nineveh.
Well, I suppose that regrets will always be with us as long as we wear this robe of flesh and we make this globe our home. But, we don't have to be purveyors of gloom and doom. Not only is "today the day of salvation," but today is also the day you can choose to be everything that you can possibly be "in Jesus."
Give it a try, you will like it!
Those six words have meant heartache and sorrow and disappointment to multitudes of people. From the family of a soldier lost in war, to a job applicant who was not hired, to a person learning about a terminal illness . . . . the words "We regret to inform you" have always left a cold chill.
I was wondering the other day about whether I had any regrets about being a Christian. Were there any real regrets during my fifty years of Christian service? Well, I came up with a few that I would like to share with you.
First, I regret waiting so long to become aware of the worldwide scope of the love of God,that His concerns were as much for the Chinese and the Africans as for me and mine, and that I could become individually and personally involved in reaching the world for Christ.
Second, I regret not praying bigger prayers. I regret not praying more often, more specifically,and more intensely for the worldwide activities of men and women daily involved in the doing of this ministry.
Third, I regret that I sat on my posterior as much as I did. I regret spending so much time talking and thinking and wondering about doing something when I should have just stood on my two feet and gone and did whatever the task was to do.
Fourth, I regret that my heart was not more often broken for a lost world. I regret that I was so casual about using tracts and scriptures and personal notes and that my witness was eclipsed at times by the activities at hand.
Lastly, I regret not telling Jesus more often that I love Him and want to serve Him through the good times and the bad. I regret not accepting the hard times without complaining and for always going to Tarshish when God wanted me in Nineveh.
Well, I suppose that regrets will always be with us as long as we wear this robe of flesh and we make this globe our home. But, we don't have to be purveyors of gloom and doom. Not only is "today the day of salvation," but today is also the day you can choose to be everything that you can possibly be "in Jesus."
Give it a try, you will like it!
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