Twenty-thirteen, no regrets!!!

"No regrets!" is one of the defining cries of my generation... or at least of my friends at camp last summer. Whenever we did something a little crazy - like going rollerskating with a full knowledge that none of us had any skill on wheels, or buying the most awkwardly patterned thrift store shirt ever, or eating that third corn dog - we would plunge into the experience yelling "Twenty-twelve, no regrets!". This went hand in hand with the more popular "YOLO" (You Only Live Once), expressing our desire to live life to the fullest and emphasizing the fact that, no matter what the consequences, this choice that we were about to make would be worth it. All of us want to be able to live our lives without regrets, because regrets imply bad choices, being wrong, dealing with painful consequences, guilt. Guilt never feels good. It doesn't make you want to yell "YOLO!" at the top of your lungs... it makes you want to curl up in a miserable little ball and whisper, "Can I live twice? 'Cause I messed this life up pretty badly." Well, guess what? There's good news! God is really into second chances. :) Salvation gives us a chance to start anew. He will wipe our slate clean the moment we ask Him... and you know what the best part is? After He does that, your sin is GONE.

"For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
~ Hebrews 8:12

The way I was raised, any wrongdoing produced a major guilt trip from my mother. Even after repentance and consequences, often there would still be a lingering sense of guilt, especially if the results of my sin continued long after the punishment did. For the longest time, I thought this was an appropriate response to my failings... "I did a bad thing, and I should be sorry that I did it... in fact, if I'm sorry enough, or for long enough, maybe it will make up for what I did." It's only been in the past couple of years that I've finally accepted that guilt is not an acceptable response to grace. Guilt is meant to convict us of sin and lead us to repentance, not to make us feel like terrible people even after we've repented. I was reminded of this incredible truth this morning when I was reading in 2 Corinthians. Chapter 7, verse 10 states clearly:

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation WITHOUT REGRET, whereas worldly grief produces death." [emphasis added]

Let's remember this important truth as we continue this crazy journey called life. I'm speaking to myself as much as to you when I say, don't hold on to your guilt after repentance. Stop taking the punishment that Jesus already took FOR you. Accept the work of grace, give up your own self-deprication. Let's live our lives with such a close connection to Jesus and His mercy that, even after we fail, we can still hold our faces up to the King and cry out joyfully, "TWENTY-THIRTEEN... NO REGRETS!!!"

Oh, and remember this important truth too...