“[Now] this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us (1 Jn. 3:19-24).”
Even if our conscience condemns us, we can have the confidence as Christians that God will forgive us. if we are not conscious of sin, as long as we do what pleases God and keep his commandments, He will hear our prayers. God’s commandments are that we should believe in His son and perform acts of love for one another. This would reassure us that the spirit of truth, which is revealed in our hearts, is in us. In addition, doing acts of love can dissipate any anger or hatred towards others. When we are baptized, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Almighty God, through Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts, and the stain of original sin is removed so we are free to serve you and keep your commandments. Grant us the confidence to know in our hearts that you will forgive our sins and fill us with your divine love that we may show acts of kindness and love to others. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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