Our proper guilt is God’s methodology of bringing us to himself. Just as sickness sends us to a physician, guilt sends us to God—and keeps us there. In fact, it is that guilt (and here I use the word guilt in it broadest possible understanding of ‘helplessness’, ‘discomfort’, ‘emptiness’, ‘disunity’, ‘fear’, ‘shame’, and ‘embarrassment’) that is the impetus of prayer. It is guilt that builds a fire of love in our hearts. It is guilt that makes us more like Christ. It is guilt that becomes our greatest blessing, because something happens when we come to God for his grace and mercy—something that is so radical and so amazing that it can only be described as death to our old selves. It is the overwhelming desire to please the One who has loved us with such amazing and unconditional love.
