Reassure Our Heart
Reassure Our Heart. 1 John 3 is one of the most interesting Bible passages dealing with the heart. In this passage we understand the truth of what it really means to be a Christian.
19
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart
before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than
our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not
condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we
receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases
him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his
Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by
this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
1 John 3:19-24, ESV
Reassure Our Heart
1 John 3 is one of the most interesting Bible passages dealing with the heart. In this passage we understand the truth of what it really means to be a Christian. We discover that our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and we must reassure our heart.
Why does our heart
condemn us; what does that mean? We understand the heart, don't we? The
heart is the seat of our emotions; it defines who we really are. We can
dress up our bodies and put on a good act toward those around us, but in
our heart of hearts we are who we really are! Before God, however, we
are conceived with hearts that hate God! Why did God call David a man
after His own heart? It didn't mean that David was without sin; in
David's heart of hearts his desire was to please God.
Even though
we are conceived with a sinful heart, God is greater than our heart.
Praise God for that! Our heart can change! That change can only be
granted by God, because He alone is greater than our heart. When we fall
before Christ and plea for forgiveness for our sinful heart, God grants
us a new heart. We are still enslaved by a sinful nature while we are
here on this earth, but now, like David, in our heart of hearts our
desire is to please God.
There lies the difficulty; we are
trapped in bodies of sin and yet desire to live in a manner which is
pleasing to God. This conflict wars against us, and many times causes us
to doubt whether we are even a true Christian. We are not saved by our
works, but only by Christ, and yet our works can help us to see true
faith in our lives. Well, let me rephrase that, though we see the
conflict in our lives, we can truly see our own heart. Even though we
are plagued by sinful desires, we know that in our heart of hearts we
love and desire to please God.
That concept is not really as
simplistic as it sounds. If you don't have that desire "way down in the
depths of your heart" red flags should be going up. It doesn't matter
what you have done for the church or for the Lord. In the end, only our
heart will reveal to God our true state. It is important that we take
the time to look inside ourselves and reassure our heart!
Many will come before the Lord at the end of time expecting to be allowed into His eternal kingdom, but He will say, "Depart from Me. I never knew you." May that not be said of you. It is not your good works that will take you into the kingdom. Only a heart changed by Christ will be allowed to enter in.
For the true believer, Christ is the greatest joy we can ever know. That reminds me of this simple chorus we sang in my youth. It is simple, and yet profound!
I have the joy, joy, joy, joy,
Down in my heart. (Where?)
Down in my heart, (Where?)
Down in my heart.
I have the joy, joy, joy, joy,
Down in my heart.
Down in my heart to stay.
I have the wonderful love of my blessed Redeemer
Way down in the depths of my heart. (Where?)
Way down in the depths of my heart. (Where?)
Way down in the depths of my heart.
I have the wonderful love of my blessed Redeemer
Way down in the depths of my heart.
Way down in the depths of my heart to stay.
Let us take the time today to look into our heart and remember that God is greater than our heart. May He, by His wondrous grace, reassure our heart, that we may know we are truly His child.
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