Things that Matter

So you may walk in the way of goodness,

And keep to the paths of righteousness.

For the upright will dwell in the land,

And the blameless will remain in it;

But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,

And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Proverbs 2:20-22

One of the cruelest lesson my children have had to learn is that of choice.  Whether that is the choice of what dessert they will have or what they will do with the last remaining hour before bed time regret over decisions is a regular part of my children’s lives.  So frequently I hear the words “I’m bored” an hour before bedtime, and “I want to do this one last thing!” the moment the clock tells us that bedtime has arrived.  Yet, no matter how much my children wish to fit one last thing into the day, it cannot be done.  That time has passed and the opportunity to spend that hour is gone.  One of the things that the book of Proverbs teaches us is that our choices and decisions matter.  By the grace of Christ we have the forgiveness of sins and the ability to start fresh each morning, but we are never going to be given the opportunity to go and relive the time we wasted yesterday.  We are never going to be able to unsay hurtful words, only apologize for them.  One of the key subtexts of the book of Proverbs is that our lives and decisions matter.  While Jesus paid the full price for our sin at the cross, He will still allow us to experience the effects of our actions here on earth – for positive or for negative. 

There is always grace for tomorrow, but there is no reliving today.