Reading: 1 John 3:19–24
The heart’s condemnation is like a silent witness against you. It’s there, testifying against you, quietly. No one else can see your heart calling you out; you feel its pain alone. This is silent suffering, the kind that makes one feel so alone. Satan loves to accuse in such a way so that his jabs will find space to reside in your heart and amplify his charge against you.
Yet, as John writes, God is greater than our hearts. He knows all things. He knows our hearts. His Son, Jesus Christ, atoned for all our sin, so that in Him we no longer are condemned. Your heart’s witness against you has no basis or standing any longer. The Word, which tells of the forgiveness of your sins, has the final say. You are baptized and bear the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and through His Holy Spirit He’s given you a new heart that does not condemn but instead loves in truth and deed. He abides in you and you in Him, and so you are never alone.
Prayer
O Lord God, because of the weakness of our flesh we fall prey to the accusations of the enemy. Send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts and remind us of Your Son’s atoning sacrifice for us, that such condemnation may be silenced; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hymn
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me
No thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Unite my thankful heart to Thee,
And reign without a rival there!
Thine wholly, Thine alone I am;
Be Thou alone my constant flame. (LSB 683:1)
Brett Witmer (Sem IV, CTSFW)