Finishing Well with No Regrets

Do you have regrets? I suppose almost everyone would like what they call in golf, a mulligan, or do-over. Things we could have and should have done differently. For believers who will stand before Jesus Christ at the Judgment Seat, I believe there will be a sense of regret for not doing more for the Kingdom of God. We won't regret any sacrifices that were made. We won't regret the money we gave, or the places we served, but five minutes after we die, we will realize precisely how we should have lived our lives and it will be too late to go back and change anything. We will say, "I should have done more to put Christ and his priorities first!" For those who die without a relationship with Christ - the greatest regret anyone will ever experience upon death is the instant realization that there is a God, Jesus is the living Messiah, and now it’s too late to go back and have a do-over. It will be an eternity of regret knowing they had the opportunity to accept Him and willfully chose not to. Paul was at the end of his life, writing his last words, and if anyone ever had the opportunity to feel depressed, bitter, and regret it was him, and yet we don't see any of that as he closes his letter to Timothy. What was Paul's secret? Paul could finish well because he viewed his entire life as an offering poured out to God. He left everything he had on the playing field of life focused on what God set out for him to do. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the words you want to hear from Jesus Christ are, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21). In order to hear those words in the future, you need to be living them out right now. Acknowledge the reality of your present situation. No matter what’s gone on in the past, are you living to do His will now? If not, what needs to change? In the years that you have left, turn your attention to things that have eternal value and finish well! Pastor Brian Richard