Self Examination

The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket was pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully-loaded basket. An American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relieve his fear he asked, "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied, "Whenever it breaks!"

Most likely all of us would agree it is crazy not to regularly examine and change something - like the rope in the story - that your life depended on. Strangely enough, however, a lot of us live our lives that way. We sometimes forget eternal life is dependent on how we live our lives here on earth. How often do we forget to slow down, examine how things are going, and make the decisions necessary to change any bad habits or sinful things we have gotten ourselves involved in? We keep doing the same old thing over and over again until something breaks.

In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul tells them: Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you —unless, of course, you fail the test?

Self examination is something we should regularly practice as Christians. Do you really want your eternal life to depend on something you have not examined and made sure is right? Of course not! Just like you would not want to go up and down on an elevator daily, supported by a rope you are not sure could hold you. Take some time today and make certain your life is right with God.