"One of the best test's of a man's character will be found in the deepest and heartiest longings. You cannot always judge a man by what he is doing at any one time, for he may be under constraints that compel him to act contrary to his true self, or he may be under a temporary impulse from which he will soon be free. He may for a while be held back from that which is evil, and yet he may be radically bad; or he may be constrained by force of temptation to that which is wrong, and yet his real self may rejoice in righteousness.
A man may not certainly be pronounced to be good because for the moment he is doing good, nor may he be condemned as evil because under certain constraints he may be committing sin. A man's longings are more inward and more near to his self than his outward acts; they are more natural in that they are entirely free and beyond compulsion and constraint. As a man longs in his heart, so is he. I do not mean every idle wish, but I refer to the strong desires of his heart. These are the lifeblood of a man's nature.
You can know whether you are good or evil by answering the questions, 'To which do you have the greatest desire? Do you continually long after selfish pleasures?' Then you are evil beyond all question. Do you sigh to be and do that which is good -- is this the great aim of your life?
Then in the core of your being there is some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel. Your heart-longings may furnish you with excellent helps for self-examination, and I beg you to apply them at once. The things of the heart touch the root of the matter." from the writings of Charles
Haddon Spurgeon -- A PASSION FOR HOLINESS IN A BELIEVER'S LIFE published by Bethany House.
Have a blest day in Christ!
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