 |
|
| Volume 19 Number 5 May 2017 | Page 14 |
|
|
| Volume 19 Number 5 May 2017 | Page 14 |
Donald R. Fox
Don’t we all harbor regrets in our lives? We all make mistakes. We all flounder in a world of doubts and the misdirection of poor human advice. Oh, to put our sorrows and regrets behind us and to push forward! Doing what is right in the sight of God Almighty must be our goal.
As we ponder regrets, we can imagine that even the illustrious apostle Paul must have had inner regrets.
Yet few men, young or old, have been so furious in persecution as was Saul of Tarsus; and the fact that he, so young, entered on the work of persecution in the manner he did. He “made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and, haling men and women,” he tore them from their homes, and “committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3)… He “punished” that is, scourged them “in every synagogue.” (Albert Barnes, Life of the Apostle Paul 30)
With zeal that few men can muster, Saul of Tarsus, later the fearless, matchless apostle Paul, performed many acts against the church. How did he overcome past negative feelings and actions to finally prevail?
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul, while in the flesh, did not fully possess (apprehend) his final reward. He put his past behind. He did not dwell on it in a way as to take away from his goal. He pressed forward. This should be our goal also, to forget, to put aside our regrets, and thus, to prevail. “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13).
It is a human factor to regret. I would wonder about a person who said that he made no mistakes and has no regrets in his life. With faith in our Savior Jesus the Christ and the promise of the prize, let us live in peace with fewer and fewer regrets.
[Editor’s Note: Many are the people and even brothers and sisters in Christ who it might seem would have been justified to quit or give up in so many areas of life: at home, vocationally, socially or perhaps spiritually. Nevertheless, they pressed onward and upward. Neither our personal regrets nor the regrets associated with fleshly family or spiritual family members ought to derail and sidetrack the conscientious child of God. The journey along the pilgrim pathway lies ahead of us; let’s determine to go to heaven and to take as many with us as we can persuade with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
Did You Notice?
Chad Ezelle
It happened yesterday, and it will happen again today. There will be people around you that you don’t even notice. It happens to us all.
We get so busy going through our daily routines that we usually don’t pay much attention to our surroundings—especially to people. It could be the cashier at Wal-Mart, the person pumping gas across from you, the guy who works down the hall or the lonely neighbor down the street. There are people all around us who want to be noticed, but we usually don’t notice them.
I wonder what it would mean for the Wal-Mart cashier if we started taking an interest in her. Would it brighten her day if we noticed her, talked with her and encouraged her? What about the guy down the hall or the neighbor down the street? Would it mean something to them if we went out of our way to let them know that we notice them, appreciate them and care for them?
Would it open doors to Gospel-centered conversations? Would we learn about them so we could find ways to share the Gospel? I think so.
Today, what will you do to notice more people? “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them…” (Matthew 7:12 NKJV).