Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2
A man who writes a column in the St. Louis daily newspaper stated, after he had been baptized as an adult: "I wish I had received spiritual training when young. I believe it would have given me a better moral and ethical base from which to govern my life; I would have avoided many of the pitfalls of ego and arrogance."
Regrets about being a latecomer are to be read between the lines written by Saint Paul. He tells the Galatians, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Great was the love the apostle had for his Savior, declaring it on many occasions and expressing great happiness in living his life in and for Christ. But think what he missed when, before his conversion, as Saul the Pharisee, he had not served Christ, instead "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1). Surely it had to be the great regret in Saint Paul's life that he had formerly "persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it" (Galatians 1:13) when he could have devoted his time and effort to the upbuilding of the church.
Regrets do the individual no good when voiced after the time of grace has passed. The rich man of Jesus' parable was full of regrets when, at death, his soul landed in hell. It was then too late to change anything (see Luke 16:19-31).
We take to heart the words of one who knew what he was talking about. Saint Paul writes: "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). The time for repentance is now. The time to believe in Jesus is today. What a joy it is to live for Him and to serve Him! Those who love the Lord and who, out of love to Him serve others will never have regrets--only hearts full of gratitude for the work of the Holy Spirit in them.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, I am sorry for my past sins and missed opportunities. I willingly turn my life over to You. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Daniel 5-7 Titus 3
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