Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
If you think Jesus is angry, frustrated, or disappointed, you won’t come to Him when you sin. Or when you do come, you won’t expect much from Him.
But Thomas Goodwin says in his book The Heart of Christ: “As for the guilt of sin… he [Jesus] knows more of that than any one of us. He tasted the bitterness of that, in the imputation of it, more deeply than we can, and of the cup of his father’s wrath for it, and so is able experimentally to pity a heart wounded with it.”
Then Goodwin says this to believers: “Your very sins move him to pity more than to anger.” Here’s what that means for you: When you feel completely wretched about yourself, you can come to Christ, and He will receive you, not with anger, but with compassion and with mercy. Your merciful High Priest knows what it is like to bear the burden of guilt and shame, and He is ready and able to lift it from you.
Fix this in your mind: You have a high priest who has been there. He became the Savior He is through all that He endured. He has a tender heart. He knows. And you can say to Him, “I know that you know.”
Are you coming to Jesus with confidence? Are you receiving mercy and grace from Him when you need it most?
