We live with so many regrets. "If only . . ." If only I had more time. If only I were younger. If only I hadn't said that. If only I could go back in time. What is your "if only"? God sometimes answers our "if only" with a much better idea.
Looking at God's promises and his current circumstances, Abraham offered advice to God with an "If only." "If only you would bless Ishmael then you wouldn't have to perform a miracle to give me and Sarah a child in our old age." God was not buying what Abraham was selling. God would bless Ishmael. But God would make his covenant with Isaac. This covenant would be eternal, not temporal. God promised a son and gave him a name before he went away from Abraham.
Centuries later, God established another covenant to fulfill what he promised Abraham. This time, God sent a baby in a miraculous way to a young woman and told her and her betrothed husband to name the child, Jesus. Though Jesus had no biological descendants, he made a way for all of us to become children of God. Ishmael's descendants and Isaac's descendants both have access to eternal life through God's only begotten Son. And so do we.
Jesus' finished work on the cross, when he cried "Tetelestai," "It is finished," offers us a new life, without regrets. God says, "I will establish my covenant . . ." and he does. Our self-salvation plans inevitably fail. God's plan of salvation never fails because he loves us with an unfailing love. Live in that love today.
