The Examined Life

Two teachers were once applying for the same position at a local school. One had been teaching for eight years and the other for twenty. Everyone expected the teacher with the greater experience to get the job, but when a decision was made, the person with eight years of experience was chosen.

 The other teacher complained. “I’ve been teaching for twenty years compared to her eight,″ he said. “I’m vastly more qualified.”

 The School Board said, “It’s true, you do have twenty years of teaching compared to her eight. But where she has eight years of experience you have one year of experience repeated twenty times.”

 It’s a hard truth: the progress of time doesn’t automatically mean growth or learning from our experience. What about you? Have you examined your life? Have you taken an honest look at your growth over time, or are you the same person doing the same thing each year? Or as Jesus says, are you bearing fruit?

 The Apostle Paul encourages this examined life. He tells the church at Corinth to, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

 Autumn, when crops and fruits are gathered, is a good time to examine your life and see whether you are bearing fruit. I offer the following questions for your own examination. They reflect the practices of the body of Christ that lead us into the presence of God and help us to follow Jesus, bearing fruit in our lives and in the world.

  • Do I profess Jesus as Lord and Savior? Have I been baptized and initiated into the church?
  • Do I give time and attention to my relationship with God each day? Do I read the Bible and pray? Do I fast? Do I participate with a small group of Christians for conversation and support. Do I make healthy choices of my body, a temple of the Holy Spirit?
  • Am I present each week when we gather together for worship? Do I receive Holy Communion as much as possible?
  • Do I give, as an offering to God, a percentage of the income the Lord has provided me? Am I tithing, giving 10% of that income? If not, what percentage of the income that God has entrusted to me am I giving? Am I increasing that amount regularly as I work towards tithing and beyond? Have I considered automatic giving through our website?
  • How am I using my gifts and abilities to serve? Am I serving both within the church as well as in the world?
  • Is the way I live a positive witness for Jesus? Have I shared with anyone my story of what God has done in my life? What would I say if someone asked me about my hope in Jesus?

When you answer these questions honestly, do you find that your life is everything you thought it would be? Or do you wish it was more than work/eat/sleep? Jesus says he came for us to have abundant life. Does that describe your life?

 If you’re not growing and bearing fruit, what do you need to do? What do you need to change? To what do you need to commit?

 “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:40)

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