Little children,

There is something about a child that makes us all feel young and free. Their wide-eyed wonder at everything they see makes all of us feel that wave of innocent freedom, even if only for a moment. But all too often our experience is nothing like that child’s innocence and freedom. Too often our experience is one of guilt, regret, and the persistent feeling that we are not doing enough. What is this? It is, at least in part, our damaged conscience.

Conscience is something people don’t talk about that much anymore. Sometimes it feels to me like people have given up on maintaining a clear conscience. I often wonder if people have given up on trying to maintain a clear conscience because they feel that achieving a clear conscience is impossible.

Well, I guess that makes sense. Without Jesus, a clear conscience is impossible. We are often told that guilt and shame are only cultural constructs. But that is simply false, or at best incomplete, it assumes that humanity is the last and only word on right and wrong. The truth is, right and wrong have been established by the one who created all things. That is not us. There are cultural constructs of course, but they are nothing like the last word on anything. Jesus is the first and the last word on everything, and his sacrifice balanced the scales of justice once and for all, for anyone that wants to be forgiven and set free.

The upshot of all of this is that in and through Jesus, a clear conscience is now possible to attain, and more to the point, to maintain. We can believe and put our trust in Jesus and we can love one another. Love is, as I have said before, benefiting others at my expense. It is what Jesus did for us, and it is what we can do for others - even our enemies.

According to this passage in 1st John, to maintain a clear conscience we need to love one another with deeds rather than empty words, and if we do that in faith we will have a clear conscience that will result in confidence before God. A pure love for others through faith in Jesus does not calculate the cost to itself, or make projections on potential gain for itself. A pure love is concerned only with gain for the other. The cross of Jesus is our model, and the Spirit of God is our strength. The Christian has no excuses (though we often look for them) because, as Peter says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence...”.

So this week instead of living in fear of the next news cycle or living in regret of past failures, let’s repent of our past failures and receive the grace of Jesus. We can truly walk along his path, in the real world - today. His path leads us to love others through faith in the power of His cross and resurrection. His path, His way, is love for others which produces a clear conscience as we walk on to eternal life in Him. Jesus is the beginning of the path and the destination. And along the way we love others with a clear conscience.

Have a great week!