It was said of Christ that he would reveal the thoughts of many hearts, and this he did. How? Simply by proclaiming grace. He who proclaims the law forces a person into something. People try to hide themselves when faced with the law. But grace, the

fact that it is grace, makes them completely unconstrained. Face to face with grace a person really learns to know what lies deepest within. Tell a child to do something–this does not mean the child does it, nor do you really get to know the child’s nature.

No, but say, “You are free, you may do as you please”–then you

find out what lies deepest in the child.

Provocations, Keirkegaard. 306.