The Examination Of God
Many of us know what is involved when a medical doctor brings you in to examine
you. The doctor will evaluate you based upon appearance. If you are bleeding,
the doctor will assume you are hurt somewhere. If you are limping, the doctor
will examine your legs, and so forth. After the initial appearance exam, the
doctor will next ask you how you feel, and why you came to see the doctor. The
doctor will listen and compile all the statistics and make a determination if
you need treatment or medicine.
There are times when nothing is wrong with you, but you must comply with a legal
requirement to either get a job or keep one. Sometimes it is just common sense
to let a doctor check you out after a traumatic event just in case you might
miss something in self-evaluation.
We all remember the exams in school. We had to take tests from time to time.
This served a few purposes. One purpose was to allow the teacher to evaluate
where you were in your development and if you need further testing or were ready
to go on to more in-depth studies. You also were looking for your grades, also
hoping you were good enough to progress further up the education ladder.
For some reason, we never get beyond the need to evaluate ourselves, or if we
do not have the training to allow someone with training to evaluate us. This
becomes a lifelong exercise. Tests in school; test on the job; and tests in
the doctor's office. Why all the tests? To see if we are qualified to continue,
or if we need further training in some field.
The most important examination that you can consider is your spiritual condition.
In 2 Corinthians 13:5, we are told to "Test and examine yourselves".
This is a very wise thing to do often. Our soul will continue beyond our life,
and where our soul ends up will be based upon our decisions we make in life.
In the Old Testament, we find that God often tested His subjects. He said that
the Manna was a test to see if His chosen people would obey or not. Many times
we see that (the obedience) as being the reason for the test.
In the New Testament we learn that God does not test people in the same way,
but that we are supposed to test ourselves. God has given us everything we need
to complete our tasks that He has assigned to us (2 Peter 1:3). We do not need
to take exams, or go see the doctor for our spiritual ills. We need to turn
to God and study what God has already done for us, and apply those things in
our life.
We are also told to "test the spirits to see whether they come from God"
in 1 John 4:1. The reason is that the information God has given us will be abused
and some (actually many) will teach error. We are required to examine what others
teach to see if it is according to Scripture. Luke commended the "noble
Bereans" for searching the scriptures daily to confirm what was being preached
to them (Acts 17:11).
Nothing in life changes. We find that we need to be examined for many reasons
throughout our lives. The best exam you can do for yourself is to examine your
life and what you are doing in light of God's Holy word. Follow the teaching
of the Bible and you cannot go wrong. You will learn what God has desired of
your life, and eventually end up in heaven.
By Carey Scott
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