Regrets.

Have you ever had any?  I have.   Words spoken, actions taken, relationships broken.

Why this subject?  I was reading this morning in Genesis 6:5-6, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Imagine that.  God regretting the very creation of man!

I sometimes wonder if God regrets bringing me into the world like he did with pre-flood man.  I mean my sin often feels so heavy and grievous to my own heart, what does it do to God’s heart?

If I had stopped reading this morning in only Genesis 6, I think I would have had a spiraling day.  However, that passage above was not the end of the story, it was really only the beginning.  It was the start of the story of Noah.  The story tells us that Noah found favor in the sight of God, so much so that God chose to save him and his family when He wiped the slate of humanity clean.  There wasn’t much told about Noah before we read that he found favor in the sight of God, but as we read through the story, we do gain some insights that I think we all can strive for:

1. He was obedient to God.  God told him to build the ark.  A giant boat of tremendous dimensions.  And he did.  I don’t read where he questioned that ask from God.  He simply obeyed.  Man I whish I was more like Noah.  As I read God’s word, to simply obey.  Live it out to the fullest.  What about you?
2. He was righteous before God.  We read in chapter 7, God says ” I have seen that you are righteous before me “.  Now on one had that seems truly difficult for someone like me to master.  I definitely align more with the verse from Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;”.  If all there was was that, then I would be done for.  But Romans 5:8-11 tells us “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”  And it that wasn’t enough, Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21 says “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  That is even better.  My righteousness ( in Christ) is God’s righteousness.  I think in that I can stand and say #2 is covered.
3. He gave thanks to God, despite everything.  That again is a tough one for me.  As I reached the end of the Flood story, we see that after Noah exists the Ark, he builds an alter and then offers burnt offerings.  Now you might think, well God did just save him, he should be thankful.  And I would agree.  But what about his losses?  Have you ever considered that Noah’s home, extended family, friends, his job, and all he had ever known was gone!  He ended up on the side of a mountain, far from where he started, in a world that was all new.  Yet somehow, salvation was enough.  What about you?  I know I have experienced loss, as I know you have as well.  But in Jesus I have Salvation.  Am I inclined to stop and give thanks?  To worship God despite the loss?  Definitely another one to work on.

I don’t want my life to be a regret, for me or God.  So like Paul says in Philippians 3:13-16  “ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

There you have it:

1. Forget the past
2. Press forward toward Jesus
3. Don’t loose ground