Love - 1 John 3:18-22

¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.


Does your heart condemn you? Is the heart a good barometer of who we are? Yes and no. It is perhaps a good measure of who we are, but it is not a good indicator of who we aspire to become. It is the heart that reveals the sinful nature of the flesh. It is where hate and anger are stored up. It is the place of lust and desire for things not your own. It is the home of envy and jealousy. 

Jeremiah said, 

The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

Jesus said,
 
¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person;

A man's heart reveals the brokenness of the flesh that he rides in. Only the love of Christ can heal these things. There will be scars. You will need Him for the rest of your life. You will not be able to live alone. And if you truly encounter His love, you will not want to live without Him.

I have tried living alone, without Him, with only my pride to support me. I cannot not do it. The things that are in my heart almost daily condemn me. I need His grace and his kindness just to get me through a single day. I also need to share that grace and kindness. I try to do that here and in real life. I'm not sure how successful I have been, but I do believe He is working in me to teach me how to share myself with others. Maybe by the time I get to the nursing home I will finally be useful. That remains to be seen. This is why I am thankful that God is greater than my heart.