Time to Examine

Some time ago I purchased a clock for my office that had a picture of a steam locomotive on it.  But more than that, every hour, on the hour, for about 10 seconds, the clock made the noise of an old-time locomotive.  Sometimes the sound was a whistle, sometimes it was the “clickety-clack” of an engine rolling down the tracks, and sometimes it was the clanging of a bell.  Each hour, when I heard the sound of the whistle, the engine, or the bell I usually had one of two responses.  One response was frustration because the noise irritated me.  The other response was an opportunity to think.  Rather than focus on the frustration I chose to do some thinking. The sound I heard reminded me that another hour had passed in the time that God had allotted me here on this earth.  So, when I heard the sound, it was good for me to spend a few moments thinking about and examining how I had spent the previous hour.  Did my actions during that hour count for eternity?  Had I taken time to encourage someone else?  Did my thoughts turn to God or His Word?  This kind of thinking and spiritual examination was good for me.

Two times in the New Testament of the Bible we are told to examine our lives. First, before participating in the Lord’s Supper.  The Apostle Paul said, “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (I Corinthians 11:28). An examination of our relationship to God is important.  Do we know Him as Savior and Lord? Second, the word “examine” in Scripture is used in connection with an evaluation of whether or not we are a Christian.  Paul puts his instruction this way, “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?” (II Corinthians 13:5). He is suggesting that we need to carefully examine our lives to see if we are rightly related to God. Do we have Jesus Christ in our life?   Do we know Him in a personal way?  If we do, then we can say that we are “in the faith.”

Maybe it is time for you to examine your life.  You do not need a locomotive clock to do that.  Make sure that you are a member of God’s forever family.  If you should die tonight, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven?  You can be certain.  But you need to examine your life.  Compare your life to what the Scripture teaches regarding a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and then take appropriate action to make sure.  The Scripture clearly says, “He who has the son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (I John 5:12). It also says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).  Have you believed in Jesus’ name?  Do you have the Son of God in your life?  Have you personally received Him?  If this is true of you, you should thank God for all He has done for you.  Now is the time to evaluate and take action.