The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 6:5-7, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man
was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually.
6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and
He was grieved in His heart.
7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from
the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and
to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”

I won’t ask you, dear reader, whether you have ever been sorry.
I’m more than certain that you have. I am exceedingly certain I
have. I’ve been sorry for things I’ve done; things I’ve not done;
things I’ve said; things I’ve neglected to say, and the list goes on
and on…

The word “sorry,” with it’s cousin, “sorrow,” appears more than
60 times in the Scripture. The list below covers a lot of sorrows:

God is sorry – Gen 6:6-7 (Does that surprise you?)
Benjamin’s brother is sorry – Jdg 21:6
David is sorry – Psalm 13:2; 31:10; 38:17; 39:2
The Wicked are sorry – Psalm 32:10
Christ is sorry – Isa 53:3
Jeremiah is sorry – Jer 8:18
God will NOT be sorry – Ezekiel 24:14
Paul is sorry – 2 Cor 2:1-7, 6:10; 7:8-11; Phil 2:27; Heb. 12:11
Peter is sorry – 1 Pet. 2:19

Sorrow works in two dimentions: we are sorry for what we have
done; and we are sorry for what we have not done! Sometimes
sorrow comes from forgetting to say “Thank you” to someone who
has helped us. Perhaps, more often than not, sorry comes from
doing or saying something we ought not to have done or said.

Quite often, our emotions get ahead of our intentions, and this sets
in motion a new list of “ought nots.” Don’t kick yourself! At my age
(left for your best guess), I still have to work on this. Even our LORD said, “I am sorry…” (Gen. 6:6-7), although He never sins.

Being sorry allows the entrance of prayer. Prayer erases sorrow,
when we confess the wrong we have done or left undone, or spoken contrary to the truth, or intimated our ignorance or knowledge of something, so as to deceive. Prayer is an excellent “conscience
eraser.” At the same time, we must yield to whatever encouragingly opens the door for sin, because sin –OUR SIN– is what sent Jesus
to the cross.

If you truly know Him, you ought to say “Thank You” every day! If
you have yet to know Him, be thankful that you are still alive and are
able to know Him. Then reachout to Him in thoughtfully sincere prayer. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin and make you one of His children. Then, you can sincerely say, “Thank You, LORD!”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom