1 John 3:20, 21
Sometimes our head and our heart do not agree. We think one thing, but our heart speaks something else to us. As believers, changing the way that we think about God is crucial to our walking in freedom and liberty, which Paul bore out so many times and in so many scriptures. Right thinking leads to right living; so wrong thinking would lead to wrong living.
While our minds are being renewed to think like Christ, our hearts often speak just as loud, and sometimes louder. We can become confused about who we are in Christ, even though our head knows all of the right answers and the right scriptures. When these moments of confusion arise, some believers tend to feel that they are less of a saint because of the way that they are “feeling”. This connection between how you feel and who you are can lead to restlessness and hopelessness.
The Apostle Peter must have felt this same confusion, when he denied knowing the Lord on the evening before Christ’s death. Following this terrible event, Peter feels so downtrodden and confused that he decides to abandon fishing for men and go back to fishing for a living. Jesus appears, walking by the sea, and blesses Peter with a boat-load of fish, much like He had done when Peter first met the Master. Peter abandons the boat and wades ashore to find that Jesus has prepared a meal and is ready to dine with His disciples.
There is no mention of Peter’s failure in that conversation over breakfast, but Jesus does ask “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” (John 21:15). The question is aimed at Peter’s heart, wondering if Peter loves Jesus more than he loves his old lifestyle. Peter says, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee” (21:15). His answer is built around what he knows and what he hopes that Jesus knows. In other words, Peter is not so convinced that he does love Jesus enough, but He hopes that Jesus knows more than He does!
John, who was witness to these events on that day, writes that if our hearts are to condemn us for our actions or for who we are, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20). Though our emotions tell us one thing, God knows what we do not know and we are better to appeal to His knowledge of us. Peter may not have an assurance of how he feels about Jesus, so he can only trust what Jesus KNOWS to be true. While I may not always FEEL saved, I trust that God knows more than I do.
If my heart does not condemn me then I can have confidence toward God (1 John 3:21). This confidence leads me to ask whatever I want to of God and be sure that I will receive it. If a believer is not sure about who they are in Christ, they cannot be confident that their Heavenly Father only wishes to do good to them and for them. If you think that He wants less than this for you, then you know that you are condemning yourself, contrary to Christ’s finished work.
Don’t worry about the last part of verse 22, which speaks of keeping “his commandments”; for John is not placing you back under the law. Read on, and learn that “This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23).
Sometimes our head and our heart do not agree. We think one thing, but our heart speaks something else to us. As believers, changing the way that we think about God is crucial to our walking in freedom and liberty, which Paul bore out so many times and in so many scriptures. Right thinking leads to right living; so wrong thinking would lead to wrong living.
While our minds are being renewed to think like Christ, our hearts often speak just as loud, and sometimes louder. We can become confused about who we are in Christ, even though our head knows all of the right answers and the right scriptures. When these moments of confusion arise, some believers tend to feel that they are less of a saint because of the way that they are “feeling”. This connection between how you feel and who you are can lead to restlessness and hopelessness.
The Apostle Peter must have felt this same confusion, when he denied knowing the Lord on the evening before Christ’s death. Following this terrible event, Peter feels so downtrodden and confused that he decides to abandon fishing for men and go back to fishing for a living. Jesus appears, walking by the sea, and blesses Peter with a boat-load of fish, much like He had done when Peter first met the Master. Peter abandons the boat and wades ashore to find that Jesus has prepared a meal and is ready to dine with His disciples.
There is no mention of Peter’s failure in that conversation over breakfast, but Jesus does ask “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” (John 21:15). The question is aimed at Peter’s heart, wondering if Peter loves Jesus more than he loves his old lifestyle. Peter says, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee” (21:15). His answer is built around what he knows and what he hopes that Jesus knows. In other words, Peter is not so convinced that he does love Jesus enough, but He hopes that Jesus knows more than He does!
John, who was witness to these events on that day, writes that if our hearts are to condemn us for our actions or for who we are, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20). Though our emotions tell us one thing, God knows what we do not know and we are better to appeal to His knowledge of us. Peter may not have an assurance of how he feels about Jesus, so he can only trust what Jesus KNOWS to be true. While I may not always FEEL saved, I trust that God knows more than I do.
If my heart does not condemn me then I can have confidence toward God (1 John 3:21). This confidence leads me to ask whatever I want to of God and be sure that I will receive it. If a believer is not sure about who they are in Christ, they cannot be confident that their Heavenly Father only wishes to do good to them and for them. If you think that He wants less than this for you, then you know that you are condemning yourself, contrary to Christ’s finished work.
Don’t worry about the last part of verse 22, which speaks of keeping “his commandments”; for John is not placing you back under the law. Read on, and learn that “This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23).
