Have You Said That You Were Sorry?
This past weekend I received a random text from a number that my phone did not recognize. Here’s what it said, “I’m sorry for everything that happened. I just wanted to wish you and your family a happy holiday season.”
This text message literally took my breath away. Who was it from? To what were they referring? I immediately tried to think about anything that had happened that was bad over the last several years. Fortunately, I could not come up with anything I personally had done to hurt someone that was so significant that I would have to have a conversation about it.
As I learned of who had texted and the reason for the comment, I was reminded of several truths about life:
1. Sometimes we struggle in relationships. Feelings get hurt. People get mistreated. We can be the giver or the receiver of these troubles. We don’t enter into any kind of friendship or relationship because we plan on making mistakes along the way. But we will make mistakes. We will need to forgive and to be forgiven.
2. Decisions we make have long-term consequences. This person was contacting me over something they were sorry about that happened a long time ago and over a period of years. The fact that I did not have their number saved in my phone would indicate that we no longer had a close personal relationship. Sometimes when we have conflicts there is no easy resolution and it may lead to someone we care about just not being as close to us as we would have liked for them to be.
3. It’s never too late to ask for forgiveness. This person sent me this message because they had a burden they were carrying they needed to lay down. Jesus taught his disciples to forgive every single time a person asks for forgiveness. This is what God does for us. We should be thankful whenever someone asks for our forgiveness. I was thankful that when I received the message, I couldn’t think of anyone I was in conflict with. I couldn’t think of anyone I had not already forgiven.
4. We should be sad that wounds happen. Whether we are the one who has caused the wound or not, what overwhelmed me about this text was the very idea that I could ever have a conflict in my life that might cause another person pain and heartache. It should be our aim to love everyone and to get along with them as much as depends on us.
What at first was a random text out of the blue turned into a blessing, because somebody expressed something that they believe needed to be said. Life is short. So tell people what’s on your heart. Repent of anything that you may have done to disobey God or to hurt someone else. You will find that there is peace in finding the strength to say you are sorry. Pride solves nothing. A humble and contrite heart is what God is seeking in each and every one of us.
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
– Psalms 34:18
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