“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:19-20, NIV)
Recently, I have been struggling with regret over some failures of mine – failures to love Jesus enough to “stretch myself” on his behalf, to push myself outside my comfort zone by loving some folks around me better. Instead, I opted to “save my own life” at the time, taking the easier way. Wish I could re-wind and have a “do over”!
That unfortunately is not possible, so I must find a way to deal with my regret and self-recrimination. Partly, my disappointment with myself is just pride: I want to be better than I actually am. Humility is what’s needed, of course.
But the most important requirement is trust – hope anchored in the mercy and goodness of God. I must exercise faith to believe that I don’t have to (and can’t!) earn a place in God’s Heart. He loves me because He is good, not because I am (though I try). I must at all cost avoid despair; for despair is believing that my sins, my failures, are more powerful than God’s mercy. That’s a lie that the enemy of our souls wants me – and you – to believe. But we know that he is “ …a liar and the father of lies” according to Jesus (John 8:44).
It’s Holy week, and the Gospels we read in preparation for Easter speak of Peter’s denials of Jesus, and also Judas’s betrayal of him. Peter had profound regret and sorrow for his failure, yet he somehow through grace didn’t fall into despair, and so received pardon and restoration. Judas, while he regretted his actions, despaired of the possibility of mercy and forgiveness, and so sadly ended his life in despair (see Matthew 27:3-5).
Let’s never give Satan a victory. Let’s believe more in the power of God’s love than in our sin and failures to love God and others. Let’s stay in Love School, knowing that while there will always be “quizzes” that we fail, our Teacher remains faithfully on the job, teaching us through those very failures how to trust him more and grow in his love.
Lessons From Love School 