If Only (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.””
John 11:30-32 NLT

Poignantly, Mary said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” “If only” implies a regret, that, with the benefit of hindsight, something could have been different and better. Mary only had the faith to consider Jesus as the healer, but the resurrector? The thought that Jesus could raise the dead had probably never occurred to her. 

Often, we look at the past with rose-tinted glasses, picking out the good bits but conveniently ignoring the not so good. But our lives are full of seasons and a new season awaits us. But do we allow our futures to be dictated to by our past? Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us“. We pilgrims look forward towards the light, and not backwards to a life of sin. We remember what happened to Lot’s wife, who had second thoughts about leaving Sodom and looked back with regrets about what the old life had for her. Genesis 19:26, “But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.”

There are many congregations that have become stuck in a previous move of God. But instead of following God, as the Israelite slaves did in the wilderness, looking out for the signs that it was time to break camp and move onto the next campsite, they stay where they are, following a liturgy and routine that doesn’t connect with God anymore. In the wilderness, the slaves had no option other than to break camp because to refuse to move would quickly lead to their demise from lack of food and water. The provision of manna followed God, and would have disappeared into the distance behind the pillars of fire and smoke, leaving any stragglers without the means of life. The manna today comes through the blessings of the Holy Spirit and, sadly, many churches find themselves in a place where the Holy Spirit has moved on. As someone once asked, if the Holy Spirit left our church would we know any difference? Hmmm…

The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me” (Jeremiah 29:11-13). The antidote to “if-only” syndrome is to wholeheartedly look for, and follow, God. It is never too late to turn our backs on our past and resolve to look for the future. The thief on the cross had a life full of regrets. Full of “if-only’s”. But in his dying breaths he looked forward and reached out to Jesus who, in His compassion, saw right into the thief’s heart, finding repentance there, and granting him the gift of eternal life. 

Are we pilgrims looking forward or back? Are we full of regrets or are we believing what Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think“? ‭‭There are exciting opportunities ahead of us because we follow an infinite God who will never fail to surprise us – if we let Him. As the old song goes, “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back“. 

Dear Father God. We indeed commit ourselves wholeheartedly to You. As the Apostle Peter said, “ … Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life”. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

If Only (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.””
John 11:30-32 NLT

Life can be full of regrets, and, with hindsight, we look back and often say to ourselves, “if only …”. If only I had worked harder at school. If only I hadn’t bought that car. If only I hadn’t married that man/woman. If only I had a different job. If only … (fill in your own list). Mary went out to meet with Jesus and she immediately and correctly declared two truths – she called Jesus, Lord, because that was who He was, and she fell at His feet in worship, because that was what He deserved. But then she said, “If only You had been here, my brother would not have died”. A statement of faith because she knew the power Jesus had to heal the sick. But she was looking backwards into the past and not forward into the future, into the presence of a limitless God. And that’s the issue for all those who live in “if only” land. We look back at what God has done in the past, with gratitude of course, but we fail to look forward to what God is going to do in the future.

We pilgrims are a people of regrets, and we churn in our minds the thoughts of how life could have been if we had made better decisions, better choices. But then we came to the foot of the cross and met the Man who redeemed the past with all its regrets and transformed our lives into a glorious future. And now, from the place of a future with Jesus and eternal life, we say to others that they mustn’t look back, because history cannot be changed. We say to them that they have the power in Jesus to change the future, a future that otherwise will become a continuum of regrets and “if only’s”. And the ultimate “if only” will be for them to stand before Jesus, trying to justify a life of unredeemed sin, suddenly realising that it is too late to make the right choice.

In Luke 16:19-31, we read about a rich man who, after a life of splendour and luxury, ended up in Hades, the place of the dead. But a poor man called Lazarus, who used to beg at his gate for scraps of food, ended up with Abraham in Heaven after he died. The dialogue between the rich man and Abraham is fascinating in that it provides an example of the ultimate regret. Did the rich man languish in a place of torment thinking to himself, “if only …”? 

Mary and Martha had spent the previous four days before Jesus’ arrival thinking to themselves in their grief, if only Jesus had come earlier. But they were soon to find out that Jesus was indeed the Resurrection and the Life. That is still the position today. Jesus was resurrected on an Easter Sunday many years ago and He is still alive today. And because of that Jesus still has the power to change the “if only’s” into a wonderful future with Him. We pilgrims may beat ourselves up, looking back at the things we did but shouldn’t have done, but God doesn’t have any record of them. Psalm 103:2-3, 12, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. … He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west”. Isaiah 43:25, “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” And because of the Cross and Jesus’ redeeming power we can leave “if only” land behind us and step into a Kingdom where there are no regrets, no “if only’s”.

Dear Father God. We are so glad that we have an exciting future with You, the limitless God. Thank You, amen.