The Cure for Condemnation

The Bible tells us that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).  If God no longer holds sin against those who have placed their faith in Christ, how are we to get past that nagging and recurring self-condemnation that we often experience?  Perhaps you know what I'm referring to; those bouts of self-criticism and feelings of worthlessness that accompany memories of the old me and reminders of past sin no matter how they present themselves. 
I hate those feelings but I have learned that I don't have to live like that; there is a cure for self-condemnation for followers of Jesus and it can be found in 1 John 3:18-24. 
This passage tells me that self-condemnation is the result of disobedience to God particularly in the area of love for others.  This makes total sense to me when I think about it.  I used to be very critical of others; not loving but judgmental and fault-finding.  I could say that I loved others but my actions and attitude said otherwise.
Then the Spirit of God moved me to put His word to the test.  I began to love "with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18).  In other words I started trying to see others as God sees them (as He sees me!); as beloved and worth saving (truth).  And I started acting on that in my attitude and in the way I treat them.
Over time I began to experience another miracle of grace in my own life.  As I became more loving of others in attitude and actions, I became less and less critical of myself and the frequency and duration of incidents of self-condemnation decreased.  Amazing!
"This is his command: to believe. . .and to love. . .as He has commanded us" ( 1 John 3:23).  It's the certain cure for what ails us.