“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.
Being a Pilgrim 