…And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

– Revelation 7:17 (VW)

By the end of the movie Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler had saved many Jews from the Nazis. He had risked his life and spent most of what he had to save the lives of 1100 Jews. But when he received a gold ring from those he saved in appreciation of his efforts, he realized to his sorrow he had it in his power to save a few more. He could have spent his money more wisely, he could have sold his car, he could have sold his Nazi lapel to save more Jews. In a time of great joy, he was sorrowful.

I see this as a picture of what may happen when we Christians get to heaven. It is only then that we will realize we could have done more to fulfill our mission: to spend ourselves and risk our lives to tell the world about the Lord Jesus Christ. But this may not be the only reason for tearful regrets. Maybe we’ll realize we didn’t love Jesus as much as we should have. Maybe we didn’t trust Him enough, didn’t obey Him enough, or weren’t as submitted to the Holy Spirit as we should have been. Maybe we’ll think about how we lived for ourselves, or how we mistreated our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I think these heavenly regrets could be one of the reason for the tears God will wipe away from our eyes. But whatever regrets we may have, we can be sure God will wipe them all away. We will not spend eternity obsessing over our failings. Instead, we will be praising God for His everlasting grace.

In the meantime, we haven’t yet arrived at our eternal home. Let’s live the rest of our lives so that we won’t have any regrets.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

– 1 Corinthians 9:24