Wait, Where’s the Undo Button?

What did we ever do before there was the ‘undo’ button? Those of us who grew up with vinyl records were thrilled when we could use the ‘rewind’ button when listening to tapes. Now that’s all ancient technology. But the ‘undo’ button goes way beyond the ability to rewind. Not only do we get to recover from our mistakes and our bad decisions. We actually get to choose a whole new direction. The ‘undo’ button gives us endless opportunities for a do-over.

If you are like me, you probably wish there was some sort of ‘undo’ button for our lives. I think about that every day. The first thing I’d do would be to undo the loss of our dear Elijah. So far no one has invented an ‘undo’ button that reverses time itself. Despite the occasional Hollywood movie that fantasizes about going back in time, God has not yet given us the ability to step out of the normal flow of events.

But wait! There really is such thing as an ‘undo’ button for our lives. While we cannot undo physical events and reverse time, there is something much more significant that we have the power to undo.

We have the power to undo the mistakes in our relationships. That includes our relationship with God.

Pressing the ‘undo’ button in our relationships is like repenting and asking for forgiveness. How many of our broken relationships have led to physical events that we wish we could ‘undo’? If only we could have fixed the relationships in the first place.

Repenting and asking for forgiveness are two important mechanical parts of our ‘undo’ button. But to make it all work, we need the third part. The person who is asked needs to grant forgiveness. I’m not sure which is the hardest part sometimes: humbling ourselves and asking for forgiveness, or granting it when we’ve been the one who was hurt. In any case, the ‘undo’ button only works when all the parts are functioning together.

I’m reminded of when Peter asked Jesus about the ‘undo’ button. I think he had the concept of a portable, battery operated device. “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). Fortunately for us, Jesus only allows us to use the unlimited version. He replied, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (v22).

Melanie just came across the following note that Elijah wrote to me a few years ago. I’ve transcribed part of it here, and provided a picture of what was a full page handwritten note. It’s the best example of an ‘undo’ button I could think of. While I cannot ‘undo’ his loss, I take deep comfort in knowing that he had a very well-used ‘undo’ button. That was especially evident when it came to his relationship with our Lord.

Dear Dad

I know that what I did was terrible and wrong in so many ways. There is no excuse for what I did and I wish that I could of taken it back. I’m very sorry for using that language and I know that it is not something god would of wanted me to do. I am looking forward to reading the bible with you and talking to you about changing my perspective on life. I want to change the way I’m living and I want to give my heart to the Lord. My goal from today is to stay completely out of trouble and every day of my life I am going to look for ways to make people happy and give compliments to make people feel great…

Love Elijah

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan