What is it that causes a man, when he has aged, to look back over his life and take an inventory of all his failures? Why is it that he makes a list of everything he wishes forgotten and retraces every regrettable decision?
The reason man becomes introspective when he draws close to the end of his days is because I have put inside each person an awareness of the need to receive forgiveness, and the ability to know right from wrong. So then, as a man’s life approaches his final years, many will often contemplate the days of their life and think over the moments when they should have done what was right when they had the opportunity to choose, but instead, they behaved badly and made the wrong decision, which at the time, didn’t seem like ‘too big a deal’.
But then later on, when he has some quiet time, the guilt and shame over his behavior set in. Unless he took the steps to make amends, then these feelings will always linger, for man cannot dispel the uneasiness carried in his heart by simply ignoring its existence. So instead, what he will do is try to suppress these feelings by pushing any thoughts of his compromised behavior into the back of his mind, hoping to leave these memories locked away forever.
However, what most don’t understand is that ‘conviction’ is not a feeling they can escape, for sooner or later its presence will be felt inside each human being, as I have placed it as the triggering mechanism that is meant to help guide man towards making the right decisions. For even if a person is not a believer, this quality still exists, so that no one can then say they shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions, since this knowledge of how to treat their fellow man is stationed inside them. But because most just want things to go their own way (or simply may not care about laws and boundaries), they decide in favor of doing what is appealing to them, figuring they will face the consequences later.
Though most will justify their choices and try to rationalize in their minds why what they did was okay, the nagging feelings over their choices won’t completely go away. As a result, they carry this sense of guilt for most of their days, only finding some relief from their discomfort by avoiding any thoughts on the matter, while, at the same time, trying to pretend these incidents never happened so their conscience can know some rest. However, a person can never find peace of mind by using suppression. For though he tries to block out these undesirable thoughts, he won’t ever be able to erase any of his memories. And since there is nothing inside of man that can rid himself of the unsettling feelings associated with these thoughts, he needs a way for his heart to be absolved from his prior mistakes. And so then he must turn to the One called Savior.
But even if My Son is accepted into his life, man still maintains his finger on the trigger of conviction, when he knowingly disobeys and crosses over the line of what’s right by choosing to do things his own way. And so again, a sense of doom is felt as guilt washes over his being, for he knew the correct thing to do but decided on the easier option of satisfying himself instead.
Therefore, “to thine own self be true” is the foundation most have built their life upon, where their decisions and choices are based on what benefits themselves above all others. And so then, when what is “right” challenges this mindset, a man will usually choose to make the selfish choice so that he arrives with the more appealing position for himself.
Just so he can’t escape the recognition of what is “right”, his conscience will kick in and warn him that his actions are improper, even though it’s still up to each person to choose what he will do. For a man’s ‘free will’ always remains intact, even when he gives his life to Me; it is always up to each person to be accountable for his decisions. Therefore, the responsibility for a man’s life rests on him, meaning: he gets to choose whether or not he will follow after Me. Even then, once he is saved, a person must weigh out the cost of walking down the path of righteousness and go where I am asking, knowing that I will never force anyone to go past where their heart is willing to venture.
So then each and every individual born must embrace My terms for the future, and pick which direction he will head: whether it be the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal bliss, or the darker road of living life on his own that will ultimately bring his soul’s destruction. The choice of either way must be determined by the one who is being challenged to choose, which is why, when a heart stands at the crossroads of judgment where he must discern what is the correct thing to do, I placed “conviction” within, so that he could, without anyone telling him, know what he is supposed to do. Therefore, when a man feels this tugging inside, the direction of its pulling will guide him to right living, where he knows without a doubt that even when the choice he must make is difficult, his integrity will remain undisturbed because when he felt the pressure inside to decide to do good, he happily obliged.
It was My goal (when I placed conviction inside them) to have each person avoid having a long list of regrets. And although there is none that has walked down the road called ‘perfect’, save One, even when a man falters in his steps and chooses to turn away from his convictions, the blood of My Son, who never erred, has the power to cover their sins. So even though a person may carry a list of regrettable choices (even if it’s a mile long), he needn’t spend his last moments on this earth dwelling on what he should have done.
For by coming to My Son, each mark of offense is erased, so that when it is time to stand before Me, there will be nothing left to be held against him. Yet, this doesn’t mean a man should do as he pleases, for that little voice of his conscience will still bring conviction and cause his heart to desire amends. For though his soul won’t be banished to darkness for bad behavior (once he dwells in My Son), unrest to his inner being will set in until he turns away from this behavior and resolves any issues he may have caused by seeking forgiveness.
Therefore, My dear children, “conviction” is not to be ignored, for this is how each of you knows when you are about to grieve My Spirit and walk off the path of righteous behavior. So then heed this warning when it rises inside, for I have given it to each human being so that they will know without hearing My audible voice speaking to them which choices are more favorable and which will only fill them with self-reproach. When you find yourselves in a situation where you feel guilt start to rise inside, where there is yet a pulling to do the right thing, do not hesitate to align yourself with what is correct. For even if the decision to follow your convictions causes you some embarrassment, humility is the better choice as it always speaks to your integrity.