We are supposed to be different -- set apart. People are supposed to see something different inside of us, namely Jesus Christ. Where the world holds onto bitterness and unforgiveness, we forgive freely because of how much Jesus has forgiven us. Where the world says to stand up for your feelings we stand up for God. When we live for Him there will be no such selfish regrets when our life is coming to an end. Remember beloved, no one truly "gets away" with anything.
The fourth regret discussed was, " I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends." Once again, too often the Christian life regarding this may not be lived correctly. We are not supposed to live as the world does. We are not supposed to engage in superficial relationships that have no depth.
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion--how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. -- 1John 3: 16-19 (NLT)
There is far too much lip service in Christian relationships these days and not enough heart. When you read the Pauline letters you can feel the genuine love Paul had for the people he was writing to. Often towards the end of these letters he mentions them by name and says how much he thanks God for them and prays for them continuously. Unfortunately in the modern church we see too much "blessed and highly favored" without any substance behind the words. The most valuable resource we all have is time. We are supposed to take the time God has given us and invest it in the lives of the people He has given us. Standing over a casket is a horrible place to regret. The Word instructs us better than that.
The final regret that people commonly expressed when facing their own mortality is, " I wish that I had let myself be happier." Happiness, much like peace, is an elusive chase. People spend their lives chasing happiness in one form or the other. If I only would get this promotion I would be happy. If I only made more money I would be happy. If only I would have this ministry, this amount of people under me, married, single, slimmer, or whatever other condition we set -- we would be happy. Of course our human nature and the deceitfulness of our hearts will simply move the goalposts when the condition is met. Suddenly we will be happy only if we make more money, have more fame, have more ministries or any other new conditions we set. That is the problem with happiness -- it is conditional. Joy however is positional!
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again--rejoice! -- Philippians 4: 4 (NLT)
Joy is a permanent state of being that arises from our position in Christ Jesus. The Bible says that in His presence is fullness of Joy. Our joy does not shift with which way the wind blows. No matter what happens in this world we know that the God we serve has already overcome the world! We also know that nothing can remove us from our position:
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Romans 8: 38-39 (NLT)
