While visiting Köln last month, I was having some sinus issues and went to an Apotheke. The lady at the counter was extremely helpful. I thanked her and as I turned to leave, there was a lady standing right behind me with her back to me. Not knowing she was there, my arm brushed against her back, so I said, “Excuse me.” She didn’t react, so I shrugged it off and started to leave the store. I was about two steps away when I heard her speak with a French accent and a very derisive tone: “It is too late to apologize.”

I have to admit, I was dumbfounded. I didn’t know how to respond to that. When is it too late to apologize? Should I have apologized before I accidentally bumped into her? Maybe she meant that apologizing didn’t make it okay that I had invaded her personal space. I later discovered someone put out a song fifteen years ago with the refrain, “It’s too late to apologize, it’s too late.” Maybe she was referencing that. Whatever, she was obviously not in a good mood. I guess she was having a bad day, and I have prayed for her several times since then.

The quote “It is never too late to do the right thing” has been attributed to Nelson Mandela. I don’t think he meant that doing the right thing undid the wrong you did previously, but it was a better way to live going forward.

And I pondered the theological implications of her words. Once sin entered the world, an apology would not make things right with God. He warned that sin would bring death and separation from Him. Saying, “I’m sorry” would not change that. So how do we remedy the situation?

We don’t. God did. That is what the birth we are still celebrating during this season is all about. Jesus was born for the purpose of paying for the sin of the world and allowing us to be forgiven. We don’t earn it and we don’t deserve it. But God gives it to us freely when we trust His promise.

Now we should try to live the way He wants us to live, “do the right thing,” not to earn His favor but to thank Him for the forgiveness, life and salvation He has given to us.

Is it too late to apologize? I don’t think so. Even though our apology does not undo what we did, it lets God know that we know we did the wrong thing and want to do better in the future. We usually call this repentance and confession.

1 John 1:8–9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

God does forgive us, not because we apologize, but because we believe in the one who paid for our sin with His perfect life and His death in our place.