March 9

“To be perfect [see Matthew 5:44-48] is to love your enemies for only by loving your enemies can you remove an inner source of conflict which prevents inner peace.....No man hates others without a sense of guilt, for in hating others he projects on them a secret unknown hatred for himself.”  Howard H. Brinton (1948), Daily Readings from Quaker Writings, 3/9

As I contemplate Howard Brinton’s words I gain understanding of my human fleshly mind vs. my spiritual mind--the redeemed self.  I have always found myself drawn to the passages in scripture that speak of removing guilt or cleansing our conscience.  I believe man often is not aware of just how deeply seated his sense of guilt is.  He does everything he can to avoid experiencing this guilt, sometimes with great bravado.  These people are quite obvious.  But what about the rest of us who fall into the temptation of being self-righteous.  It is often so subtle we honestly believe our actions are not our attempt to “be OK” outside of God’s redeeming Love but rather our attempt to explain ourselves.  I am writing these words to myself.  I was supposed to write this devotional yesterday.  If I had, I would not have written it from this point of view because my self-righteous episode would not have happened yet.  God even uses my own procrastination to my benefit when I am willing to come to Him with an open heart.  Thank you Lord, for that assurance.

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”  1 John 3: 19-22