“Regrets??? I’ve had a few …”

“Regrets … I’ve had a few”. That phrase is part of a song called, “My
Way”. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and
many others sang it. I suppose all of us have a few regrets in our life. We
can look back and remember times when we wish we would have done things
differently. Maybe we said something or did something we wish we could
take back. Or perhaps we regret not saying what was on our mind at the
time. This week, I read an article about a 68 year-old man who had retired
from his job and was reflecting on his life. When he was eighteen, he
joined the army. Like most young men his age, he had a high school
sweetheart. He kept in touch with her for a few months but as he moved
around in the service, the letters became fewer and farther between.
Eventually, he was sent overseas and lost track of her. When he returned
home several years later, he went back to his hometown. His sweetheart had
moved away and her parents were now deceased. He asked around but nobody
knew where she was. He took a job as a pilot with a major airline and
whenever he visited a new city he always looked through the phone book,
hoping to find her name. He never did. The man never married and now he
dreaded the lonely years which lay ahead. Returning to his hometown where
at least he still had a few old friends, he visited the cemetery where his
parents were buried. A few yards away were the tombstones of his
sweetheart’s mother and father. He had never noticed them before. As he
was about to leave he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. A woman
carrying flowers was slowly walking through the cemetery. She stopped at
the graves of his sweetheart’s parents, gently laid down the flowers, and
dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. As she raised her head, their eyes
met. Although the years had changed her, he instantly recognized his
sweetheart. For the first time in years, he found himself running and he
stopped inches from where the lady was standing. They exchanged greetings,
found a nearby bench, and spent the next hour or so catching up. To his
surprise, he learned that she had never married either and had been a
teacher at a school in India. She recently returned to America. The man
told her that he was sorry he stopped writing and how he had spent many
years looking for her all over the country. “I wish”, he said, “that I had
told you something 50 years ago”. “What did you want to tell me?” she
asked. He replied, “I wish I had told you I loved you”. His sweetheart
took his hand and said, “I wish you had told me too!”. They’re now married
and are spending their years together in a little house just a few blocks
from their high school. That story has a happy ending but many more do
not. On judgment day, Revelation 20:11-12 says that the lost will stand
before the throne of God. I wonder if we, as Christians, will see that
sight? I wonder how many family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and
classmates we’ll see standing there?. And I wonder if we will regret not
sharing the gospel with them? Will we wish we had taken the time to invite
them to church? Will we wish we had prayed for them more? This month, I
challenge us all to reach out to the lost around us. Will you do whatever
it takes to bring a lost friend or family member to church with you?
Regrets? I’ve had a few. But I pray none of us will regret a missed
opportunity to introduce someone we care about to Jesus.
God Bless You!
Bro. Joe