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By Pastor Todd Fletcher

 

When I was in high school, my grandfather was hospitalized for a sickness that would eventually end up taking his life. When it became apparent he wouldn’t be going home and the end was near, he began talking more openly about his life with us than he ever had. One evening, after sharing stories with us about his life, he ended by saying, “I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could.” 

I’ve heard others make similar statements over the years, but his words struck me so profoundly that I still think about them even to this day, some 30 years later. I mean, who hasn’t done things they regret? I, for one, can think of plenty of things I would do differently when I look back on the mistakes I’ve made in my life. Then, as a Christian, I believe the Bible when it says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So, shouldn’t we all wish we could go back and change things from our past?

But I recently began to see my grandfather’s words in a different light when I thought about the fact that he too was a Christian and how this must have impacted his perspective. As Christians, we fully believe and confess that we are sinners who can do nothing of any eternal value apart from Christ and that we are deserving of nothing short of God’s wrath. Yet the Apostle Paul tells us that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He is telling us that God the Son came into this world and took on human flesh so that He might bear the reproach of our sins and die the death that we deserve in our place. Now, because of what He has done on our behalf, all those who come to the Father through the Son will be saved when they place all their hope in life and death in Him and Him alone for their salvation. That means that all those past faults and failures are covered by the blood of Christ. When the Father looks at a Christian, He doesn’t see our unrighteous acts. All He sees is the righteousness of His Son, Jesus.

This puts an entirely new spin on my grandfather’s words. He had lived to see how “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). You see, God had used all those regrettable faults and failures to bring him to the point of faith in Christ as his Savior. All things really had worked out for his good and he could face eternity saying, “I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could.”

So, as we enter this Christmas season, remember what Jesus Christ came into this world to accomplish on your behalf and be sure that your sins have been forgiven so that you too can face eternity saying, “I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could.”

Todd Fletcher serves as the Senior Pastor of Beulah Baptist Church.