17 October 2022
Just because I began moving toward living by my convictions early in life, it doesn't mean I was any kind of angel as a kid.
On the one hand, I rarely got into any serious trouble. On the other hand, I still carry a load of regrets. There are all kinds of things I wish I could go back and undo, and any number of people to whom I wish I could apologize. Sadly, many of those people have died, and the rest are scattered. I cannot find them. (My family moved often when I was young, sometimes thousands of miles.)
But then, I know for certain that these things haunt me to keep me in line. Satan may mean them as accusations to bring disabling guilt, but the Lord uses them to remind me that I will never be perfect. Even if I get really good at obeying Him now, there are too many scars on my soul from the wounds I left on other people. My past is defiled. That's how sin works.
Those things won't keep the grace of God from washing me clean. They won't keep me from coming into His Presence. He still accepts me with all my mistakes. But as long as the flesh lives, it carries the baggage of moral failures, and we become increasingly eager to leave it all behind. Our spirits are forgiven, but mortal flesh cannot be cleansed. We leave it here when the Lord calls us Home.
One of the things I do to ease the regrets is pray for those whom the Lord brings to my mind. Who can say how He uses that? It's important to obey regardless of what I might know about how it turns out. I believe I'll find out in Eternity.
This document is public domain; spread the message.