Suspicion and doubt often permeate our own souls – assuming the difficulties we face in life are due to our own failures. And this causes us to hesitate. What we call humility and discernment is in reality an ongoing interrogation and distrust of our own hearts, which holds us back from a courageous life of faith. But, in Christ, our hearts are no longer on trial and we can now trust its goodness.
Jesus describes those with a good and noble heart as those who hear the word of God, keep it, and bear fruit with patience. He is showing us the reality of things, and not merely an aspirational state. As such, our redemption in Christ has removed our old hearts of stone and given us new hearts, which are good and noble. And we’ve now been entrusted to bear fruit with patience.
When we live as if this is not true, as if our hearts are still on trial, then we’re more prone to accept false guilt or delay meaningful action because we assume our motives are suspect.
For instance, perhaps we feel called to move in a particular direction, but we keep waiting “just to be sure.” Or maybe we try to kill the recurring desires of our heart because we believe we should want them anymore. In marriage and other relationships this might also be the temptation to automatically assume guilt and over-apologize.
To be sure, our hearts are still being formed with plenty of room for growth, but they’re no longer on trial. This means we must learn to steward our hearts rather than defend or condemn them.
What would be different if you trusted the work of Christ on your behalf – giving you now a good and noble heart? If your heart has been redeemed, what does it look like to now live with a confident freedom and accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do?
