When Our Hearts Condemn Us

“When, through the prompting grace of Jesus, we have confessed our sin and brokenness; when we have accepted the gift of His righteousness, the Father looks upon us just as He looks upon His Son—as though we had never sinned.Thus, what the Father says about us must always be more true than whatever our guilt-burdened consciences may say: ‘By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything’ (I John 3:19-20, RSV).Grace—and the standing it faithfully gives us in heaven—is always more true than even the powerful emotions by which we continue to accuse ourselves.As we learn grace, we learn to agree with God—about sin, about righteousness, and, yes, about eternal life.So stay in grace.”