This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

1 John 3:19, 20

Passages such as these should not be read in a hurry, or worse yet, without letting its meaning soak one’s inner being.

For example, I find the phrase, “we belong to the truth” to be quite different than I would have thought.  When it comes to “truth,” I think of my owning the truth, another way of speaking of belief.  John goes way beyond that.  He sees himself and us believers as “belonging” to the truth.   As I see it, he reminds me of the fact that I do not own the truth, the truth owns me!!

The truth is the truth whether I believe it or not. Whether I believe a truth or not does not alter the essence of the truth one iota. The truth does not depend on whether I believe it or not.  If there was not one believer on the earth, that has nothing to do with the truth.  The truth is not truth because people believe it, it is truth because it is truth!!  It sounds obvious when I think about it.  Now – I am invited by the Spirit of God to think about it and conform my thinking to God’s eternal truth.

If the truth owns us, then we are at rest in the presence of the Eternal God.  Unrest is the result of arguing with God.  When those arguments cease we are at peace with God, resting on his love and mercy.

John notes that even believers might be stretched at times to believe what seems quite unbelievable.  We know the truth but our hearts are not yet convinced at times because things happen that defy belief.   So we must speak to our hearts, reminding our hearts that God is greater than our hearts.  What my heart tells me or believes must come under the scrutiny of my Heavenly Father.  God is greater than the seat of my affections!  I should not judge God through the lenses of my experience or my emotions, but I should receive the Word of God for He is far greater than all human thought compounded.

Our hearts know some things, God knows everything.  If we can rest on that we can rest!!