Read 1 John 3:11-24

In his book Grace, author Max Lucado tells the story of Li Fuyan, a Chinese man who suffered from terrible headaches. He tried a variety of treatments until at last an X-ray revealed that he had a four-inch knife blade lodged in his skull. Lucado equates this man’s suffering with the experience of guilt. “Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface, festering, irritating. Sometimes so deeply embedded you don’t know the cause.”

Today’s reading applies the X-ray of God’s Word to the soul. John provides us with a test to see if we show evidence of having passed from death to life, and the proof is love. Those who have entered into new life in Christ have been given a new capacity to love others. If we are in doubt about what love is like, we need only look to Christ.

But who can look at Christ’s example and not feel that we have missed the mark? John reminds us that God is greater than our hearts and knows everything (v. 20). This knowledge can either be a comfort or a threat, depending on where we stand with Jesus Christ. If we belong to Christ, it is a comfort to know that Christ’s sacrifice is greater than our guilt. His payment for sin was more than equal to our transgression. It surpassed it. Our confidence is in His work, not our own feelings.

If we are not trusting in Christ, guilt is God’s early warning system to show us our need for forgiveness. If our own conscience condemns us, how much more should we be concerned about God’s judgment? He knows us more deeply than we know ourselves. The only way to find rest from a troubled conscience is to apply the salve of Christ’s blood, which purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:9–10).

APPLY THE WORD

Our conscience is not infallible. Some are too sensitive, feeling guilty about things that are not sinful. Others have trouble feeling guilty about anything. We need to test our conscience by the truth of God’s Word. Whether our conscience is too silenced or too sensitive, the remedy is the same: accepting the forgiveness found in Jesus.

http://www.todayintheword.org