Check Up Time

 

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”

II Corinthians 13:5

 

Doctors advise us of the importance of self-examination to catch certain medical problems early.

My wife is a three time breast cancer survivor. At least once in those three instances the cancer was found through her own self-examination. That was followed up with tests to determine exactly what she was dealing with.

Speaking spiritually, we are told by the Apostle Paul to examine ourselves to determine whether or not we are in the faith. He then goes on to say:

“...test yourselves.”

It is essential that we, as believers, conduct this self-examination and allow the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes to areas that can lead to sin or have become stumbling blocks in our relationship with the Lord.

Too often our time with the Lord can become ‘petition piracy’ where our time (and the Lords’) is taken up with our wants (even when those wants may be genuinely unselfish because we are interceding for others) instead of taking moments to examine where we need to ‘test’ ourselves and make changes to certain behaviors, attitudes or actions.   

In the Old Testament the priest was the one to examine a person who may or may not have a disease and to declare that person clean or unclean.

In the New Covenant you and I are priests in the Kingdom of God and can use the act of regular spiritual self-examination to strengthen our walk with the Lord.

When was the last time you went in for a check-up?