Does Christianity Guarantee a Blessed Life?

As I enter middle age, I have some pretty big regrets. Looking back at missteps and missed opportunities, I struggle not to go down the rabbit hole of judgment. There are the average regrets where I think about times I should have spoken up, shut my mouth, or worked harder at something.

Then there is The One Huge Regret: I wish I had done things better for my son before he died.

That is the one that threatens my identity the most. Who am I if I was not a better mother when I had the opportunity? Do I even consider myself a “good” Christian? Can God bless me again after fumbling the greatest blessing I had?

Some regrets are simply insurmountable. There are some things that cannot be changed, but let me tell you, in Christ all things can be redeemed.

Like all emotions, regret cannot be avoided. We can try, but to say you will live a life of no regrets is like saying you will live a life where you never find anything funny as long as you live. Pain, anger, frustration, grief, and regret are guaranteed to be a part of the human existence. They do not represent that God is displeased with you, punishing you, testing you, or lifting the hand of blessing from you. They are just emotions, and scripture gives us plenty of resources to handle them in a responsible and Godly way.

No matter how I feel, God has never removed the gift of salvation and eternal life from me. I will never be exempt from what the work of the cross accomplished. Fruitfulness and contentment are always available to me as a child of God, by way of the Holy Spirit working in me, and the word of God empowering me to take hold of the Kingdom of Heaven while still here on earth.

My value is never compromised by my actions or inactions. My joy is overflowing that I am one in the Spirit with God, and so is my son. In that way, my son and I are very much connected, and as he now is in the great cloud of witnesses, he can know my heart and intentions in a way that renders regret powerless. That, my friends, is a miraculous redemption for my short-sided foolishness; a lavish gift I can never repay, but one God finds me worthy of receiving because I am His daughter.

When I contemplate all that God has done through the cross, I am overwhelmed by the thought that there is no thing God cannot redeem, restore, reclaim, or revoke on my behalf. It is also amazing that there is no feeling I can feel that removes me from His Grace. His grace is boundless, and to think I could do something big enough to negate it is ridiculous.

Putting regret in perspective under the shadow of the great work of the cross sweeps me away on the tide of another emotion: gratitude. There is no place where I do not have intrinsic value to God. I am beloved because I am His, and nothing can change that.

1. What are some regrets you have?
   

2. How do these regrets make you feel?
   

3. Name some things scripture says about Christ’s redemption. Do you believe it all applies to you?

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9 NIV)

Heather Bise

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