If Jesus was full of grace, if he never sinned and always loved, why did so many people hate him? Jesus actually answered that question: “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil” (John 7:7). The world hated Jesus, even the church people hated him, because he told them what they were doing was evil. When he insisted they change, they called for the cross.

That’s still the issue today. There’s something we all have in common—church people, not church people, everyone. We all hate being judged. That’s in our DNA, isn’t it? When someone says or even suggests that we need to change, we swing back hard. We defend ourselves or accuse our accusers. Even if they’re quoting Jesus. The reaction we see in toddlers who are told no is the same reaction we see in drivers who hear the horns of other cars. We get angry. And it gets much worse with moral behavior and personal beliefs. 

So where’s the grace in today’s message? Simply this—If you repented today, if you apologized to God for your sins, you have vivid proof that the Holy Spirit is working in your heart. That deep desire to be corrected and be better is not in human nature. It’s a gift of God.

So even if you’re struggling and falling short today, praise God even for your remorse. It’s proof that you love the real Jesus, the Jesus who calls himself your Lord.