see how quickly He will pardon and bless you. He will even justify you and reckon you as righteous, by virtue of the righteousness of Him who bore your sins in His own body on the Cross.
There are some perhaps who think themselves righteous; and that, therefore, there is no need for them to repent and believe the Gospel. They are like the Pharisee in the parable, who thanked God that he was not as other men—“extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican;” and who went on to say, “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess.” What is the judgment about such self-righteous persons? “I tell you this man [the poor, contrite, repenting publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other” (Luke 18:11–14). “There is none righteous; no, not one.” “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). Let no one say he does not need to repent. Let each one take his true place—that of a sinner; then God will lift him up to the place of forgiveness and justification. “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
Wherever God sees true repentance in the heart He meets that soul.
I was in Colorado, preaching the gospel some time ago, and I heard something that touched my heart very much. The governor of the State was passing through the prison, and in one cell he found a boy who had his window full of flowers, that seemed to have been watched with very tender care. The governor looked at the prisoner, and then at the flowers, and asked whose they were, “These are my flowers,” said the poor convict. “Are you fond of flowers?” “Yes, sir.” “How long have you been here?”