Life doesn’t have a rewind button!

I love playing Checkers. I don’t play that often but I love to challenge anyone to a game if I get the opportunity.

The idea of checkers is to get your pieces from one end of the board to the other end towards the opponent’s side of the board and if successful become a “king.” Unless you are a “king”, you can only move forward, not backwards. Many board games are like that. You can only move forward. Life is like that as well...it always plays forward.

We are all on a journey called “life” and we need to ask ourselves, “What are we doing or not doing with our lives that could lead to deep regret?” Life does not have a rewind button. We can look at old pictures of when we were younger, or when our kids were smaller...but we can't have it back.

At the end of every day, one more box on the calendar has been shifted from the future column to the past column, from possibility to recent history. All that has gone before can be celebrated, remembered or regretted, but cannot be retrieved.

Life does not have a rewind button. We can't go back. So we must try to get it right the first time.

There is this interplay between two 'C' words - Commitments and Convictions. We all hold convictions about what matters most in our lives, about what we hold most dear. But when we take stock of our day-to-day actions, there is often a gap between what we value and the way we spend our time, money, or energy.

“Regret prevention” means taking an honest look at what commitments are shaping our lives.

· Are we living our lives in a way that is consistent with the things we profess to believe in?

· Are we walking the talk?

· Are we living by our convictions or are we making commitments that we will later regret?

Let me ask you two questions:

(1) What are the things that are most important to you in your life?

(2) What percentage of your time and resources are being invested there?

No one on his or her deathbed was ever heard to say, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.” Remember, life has no rewind button.

In the Bible we learn that Jesus calls us to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to also love your neighbour as yourself. This may seem hard at first but when you real think about it, relationships are really the only thing that is important. God and people are what matters most in life.

In his book entitled, ”When The Game is Over, it All Goes Back in the Box”, John Ortberg writes, 'Most people, when asked, “If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?” respond as follows:

· I would have loved more deeply

· I would have laughed more often

· I would have given more generously

· I would have lived more boldly

When our convictions are not reflected in our commitments, we open the door to regret. Remember, there is no rewind button. We can only move forward.

If you really want to know how to live a life without regrets, you must begin with God. You were created in the image of God and for His purpose. Focusing on your personal goals, your dreams and your ambitions will never reveal your life’s purpose. You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will