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Aug 29, 2023 18:30pm

No Regrets

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I poured a little water from the pitcher sitting on the table and gave a sip to my dad. We’d been in the hospital for days. Maybe it was 5 or 6, I’m not sure, I had lost count. He wasn’t eating much or drinking much at this point. His health was failing and we knew there wasn’t much time left. But at that moment, he was still alert and he was thirsty.

I had used all the water and ice from the pitcher so I went to the nurses’ station and asked for more. When I returned, I filled up his cup again and offered him another drink.

I can still remember the smoothness of his hand holding mine. It was covered in age spots and dry skin because he hated lotion, but I probably knew his hand better than anyone else’s. It had wiped away tears, brushed my hair, grabbed ahold of me when I wouldn’t listen, played games with me, cheered for me, handed me money, and at that moment, it was simply holding onto me.

We talked of how much time we had left, he said, “give it to me straight Loni, how much time do I have?” I would never give him anything definitive. The doctors had said it could be any time. They thought he would have been gone by now, but yet, there he lay, still talking and breathing. I just told him it was up to the Lord and He hadn’t seen fit to telling me.

I thought of all the things he would miss in this life – watching his kids get married, seeing his grandkids, and watching Norte Dame have a winning season again. But in that moment, he squeezed my hand and said, “no regrets”.

Luke 9:24-25

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”

This passage focuses in on one question – what are you living your life for? Is it for yourself? Or for Jesus? This was what Jesus was trying to point out to His disciples. He had just told them that they would have to surrender everything, even their own will, for the sake of following Christ. Here, He poses the question, what good is it to gain this world but lose yourself in the end?

No regrets.

That’s what I want to be able to say upon my death. I want it to be said of me that I gave everything I had to Jesus. That I lived my life in full surrender to His will, whether or not I received anything this side of heaven. I want to be as empty as that pitcher on the side table of my dad’s hospital room. I want to have poured out everything for His glory.

We can chase after all the things in this world that seem to make people happy, but what will we truly gain? Those things are only temporary. But what we do with the gospel is eternal.

First, we must accept it. We must know that Jesus is the only Son of God and He came to save us from our sins by dying on the cross and conquering death as He rose from the grave 3 days later. His perfection made it possible and He offers it to us. He promises to save us if we will only accept what He came to offer.

Second, we must realize that when we accept the salvation of Jesus, that we are also accepting His Lordship, His authority over our lives. We surrender our will for His. We choose His way instead of the way we want. And we do so by reading and studying His word, learning more of what He desires for our lives and then putting it into practice.

Third, we must act on what we learn. It’s not enough to just soak up knowledge. We must go out and share it with others. How will you do that? Where has God placed you to give you a voice, a platform, a relationship where you can share the name of Jesus and teach others to follow Him?

This world may seem like it has a lot to offer, but it’s all dust in comparison to the joy of serving Christ the King and being used by Him to accomplish His will.

No regrets.

Be filled today and then pour out all that Jesus has done for you, in you and through you.