What's your biggest regret in life? If it's anything like these random New Yorkers, it has one very important word in it. Students from Strayer University set up a chalkboard on the sidewalk near Lieutenant Petrosino Square in New York City for one day. At the top of the board was written, "Write your biggest regret." They provided a supply of colored chalk and set up a video camera to record people writing on the board.

The chalkboard attracted many people walking by and was soon filled to overflowing with written regrets that were poignant and thought-provoking.

• Burning bridges
• Never speaking up
• Not being a good husband
• Should have spent more time with family
• Staying in my comfort zone
• Not saying "I love you"
• Never applying to med school
• Not making the most of every day
• Not being a better friend

As the board filled up with so many different stories, they noticed that almost all of these regrets had one thing in common. Nearly all of them involved the word "not." They were about chances not taken. They were about words not spoken. They were about dreams never pursued.

But then they gave these same people an eraser and wrote "Clean Slate" at the top of the chalkboard. As she erased her regret one young woman had tears in her eyes as she said, "I feel hopeful. It means that there are possibilities."

Possible Preaching Angles: (1) Christ, cross of; Christ, death of—In and through Christ we do have a clean slate. All of our sins and regrets have been washed away. (2) Regret; Failure. People you meet every day carry a weight of regrets normally hidden below the surface of their lives. They need to hear that they can find freedom in Christ.

Editor's Note: Watch the video here.