Regret. We’ve all experienced it. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world... when you feel helpless when you wish you would have said or done something differently; when you know it’s too late, that you can’t relive it, that it can’t be undone. There’s no “rewind” button or “undo” button in life. Regret is something that, once it hits, is just something you have to live with, something you must endure in your heart forever.
But, regret—even though it is one of the worst feelings in the world—is actually one of our greatest blessings. I think God allows us to experience regret as a foretaste of what is to come if we abandon Him. Kind of like a warning sign.
I think regret is probably what makes Hell, Hell. (After being separated from the love of God, of course.) It’s that never-ending “I wish I would have...” that torments you for all eternity.
In Hell, you have nothing but “time” (though it’s not really time)... to replay all the opportunities you had in life to choose Him, to remember all the people who told you about him, and all the moments you had to believe, to listen, to pray. For all eternity you writhe in regret, having no one to blame but yourself for your suffering, coming face to face with the truth you rejected over and over again. And that, my friends, is the point: God doesn’t send people to Hell. WE CHOOSE IT every moment of every day.
The people in Hell chose to be separated from God in life, and that choice carried over at the moment of their death. God simply honored that choice. At their judgment, He merely proclaims what THEY have chosen. And then, for all eternity, they are tormented by that choice, haunted with regret. It was not God who chose it. God (who is love) does not want Hell for anyone. As a Father, He does not want to be separated from His children in this life or the next. So He sprinkles every moment of every day with countless opportunities to choose Him.
He sends you people who will speak of Him, coincidences that will point to Him, and trials so you rely on Him. Every moment of every day is filled with Him. Look for Him today and accept Him—don’t reject Him. Don’t let this be your banner for all eternity. Regret is Hell.
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