Go ahead, sing a few bars! I know you want to! I guess I was thinking about that ‘89 Cher standard (kinda weird to mention Cher, 1989, and “standard” in the same sentence, huh!) since last Saturday night we did just that: we turned back time. Of course, the hour we gained moving from daylight savings time back to standard time will be lost again next spring when we turn our clocks forward, but for one fleeting moment anyway, we got to do what many of us often wish we could, we got to turn back time. Unlike Frank Sinatra, whose regrets were “too few to mention,” most of us have plenty of them: missed chances, blown opportunities and words we shouldn’t have said. Many spend their lives playing the “coulda, woulda, shoulda, if-only” game.
What should we do with our regrets? We can’t really “turn back time” in the sense that we can change the past. Is it “water over the dam” or “water under the bridge? I don’t know, but either way, you get the picture, what’s done is done! … Or is it? The answer is….yes!.... and no!
The Apostle Paul was a fellow who had lots of past mistakes: stoning Stephen, persecuting the church, denying Christ, to name a few! In fact Paul calls himself, “the worst of sinners!” But Paul did not let his past sins keep him from Christ’s service. Instead, he loudly proclaims his sinful unworthiness as an example of God’s mighty saving grace! “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1Tim. 1:14-15) Paul could have let his regrets eat him alive, but instead he sees and receives the grace, mercy and forgiveness of the cross that actually has the power to “turn back time”- making us justified: “just-as-if-I’d never sinned! (Rom 5:1-2) Paul refuses the devil’s condemnation and he exhorts us to not allow the devil to pummel us with our past either! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death!” (Rom 8:1-2)
The blood of Jesus can, in a spiritual sense, “turn back time” removing all the guilt, shame and punishment which we deserve because of our sin! We must confess our sins to God and repent of them and by faith put our trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross, and when we do He removes all the negative spiritual consequences of our past sins. However, the earthly consequences remain. Stephen was still dead. (Remember, I said the answer was both yes!... and no!) Sometimes our sins do have painful earthly consequences that God doesn’t remove. He wants us and others to see and remember that when we live according to our own desires, not doing things His way, (i.e. sin,) that those sinful actions bring pain and death. If it didn’t hurt when we touched a hot stove, we’d do it over and over. Pain has a purpose! But regrets…. not so much.
God does not want us to wallow in our past sin, failures or missed opportunities, rather He wants us to “let the dead bury the dead” and follow Him! Paul, puts it this way, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Why not use this seasonal clock change as a reminder to do more than just exchange the batteries in your smoke detector. Exchange your sinful past for a forgiven future, condemnation for freedom, regrets for motivation. Give Him your sin, guilt, shame and punishment, and receive righteousness, peace and joy!
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