The Man in the Mirror

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (KJV)

Many of you are familiar with the myth of Narcissus. He's the young man who sees his own reflection for the first time and falls madly in love with himself (so much so, that he never leaves the pool of water where he sees his reflection and dies there). The Christian life calls for self-examination. We're going to talk about that briefly today.

Self-examination can be challenging because we are not always qualified to evaluate our own hearts. Here are just a few scriptures which indicate that:
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

The bible says that we really don't know our hearts. This is ironic, because I often hear the phrase "God knows my heart". This is typically a spiritual way of saying that we aren't going to do the right thing, but our intentions are good. We often judge others by their actions, but judge ourselves based on intention. The truth is that many times we are not aware of "why" we do things. The Lord is able to show us the purity of our motivations (or the lack thereof).

There is also the challenge of what I call "the comparison trap". We like to measure ourselves by looking at others (typically those who are not meeting the bare minimum requirements) and comparing ourselves to them. Sometimes we are like the Pharisee who prayed "I thank thee that I am not as other men are......extortioners, unjust, adulterers, .....or even as this publican." (Luke 18:11). We can always find someone who is doing a little worse than we are. Paul says that using others (even other Christians) as a means of comparison is not wise (II Cor 10:12).

So how do we undertake such a daunting task? Prayerfully, and with holy awe (Psalm 4:4. Psalm 26:2, Psalm 139:23-24)- with diligent search (Lam 3:40)- and an attitude to obey (Psalm 119:59). The Word of God will reveal our heart and its intentions (Heb 4:12). So take a moment today and look at the man in the mirror. You may or may not like what you see. But you owe it to yourself to see if you are truly "in the faith". Very few people would buy a new home without an inspection. And who among us would purchase a new car without taking a test drive? Should we be any less diligent in eternal matters?

There are benefits to self-examination. Paul said that self-examination can help us to avoid temporal judgment (I Cor 11:31). We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, but many of us face needless chastisement in this life because we fail to "judge ourselves". John says that our prayer lives will flourish when our hearts are free from condemnation (I John 3:20-22).

Until next time....

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