One Saturday way back when I took my 5- or 6-year-old son to the flea market. While we were there he spotted a kids’ carpentry tool kit that he just had to have. He used to watch admiringly when I did carpentry work, and here was his chance to have his own tools! The problem was they were very poorly constructed. I doubted the tools would even be usable. And I was sure they would not hold up. And I told him all this. But the blue paint on the handles, the wooden case, and the chance to be like Dad had him. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t talk him out of it.
So I let him buy it. I had a bad feeling as he handed over his birthday money for that cheap tool set. I knew this was not going to end well. But some things you just have to learn the hard way, right?
When we got home he wanted to put his new tools to work. I noticed the hinges on the case were already working themselves loose. He tried nailing a few nails with the hammer but the head was so loose it was impossible to drive a straight nail. He grabbed the handsaw and started making a cut on some thin wood. After just a few strokes the handle broke. My son burst into tears.
A number of emotions came over me in that moment. One was regret. I regretted that I had let him buy that tool set. That I had let us walk by that particular vendor. That I had even taken him to the flea market at all that day.
But then again, I knew he had to learn this lesson. Shiny does not always mean quality. It’s wise to follow a trusted person’s advice. And so on.
In Genesis 6:6 we come across these surprising words: “the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” Mankind had become so exceptionally evil in such a very short time that God tells us He was sorry He had made humankind. Wow! Have you ever wondered why the all-knowing God would have created humankind if He knew that He would later regret having done so? I certainly have.
Perhaps the story I shared above sheds some partial light here. As a dad, I allowed something to take place that I was quite certain would not turn out well. Sure enough, I was right. And when it happened I felt a keen sense of regret over it. But there was more to the story than just regret—other things were in play as well. Though it would surely pain my son and me, I believed I needed to let the regrettable happen… so that good would come of it.
Did all-wise God also allow the regrettable? and suffer great regret Himself? …that exceptional good would come of it?
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways! (Rom. 11:33)