Spiritual Checkup
SPIRITUAL CHECKUP
Read 1 John 2:3-10.
As Kevin entered the waiting room, the office nurse smiled at him. “Your father’s almost done for the day, Kevin,” she said.
Soon Kevin and his father were in their car, headed for home. “Dad, how can you tell if a patient is sick?” Kevin asked.
“Well,” said Dad, “when a patient comes in for an exam, I first ask if he or she has any complaints. I also check height, weight, blood pressure, and heartbeat. I listen to the lungs, and I look at the ears, eyes, nose, and throat. If I suspect any illness, I sometimes take a blood sample or order some other tests.”
“That sounds simple enough,” said Kevin. “So why do some people skip their checkups?”
His father replied, “They don’t realize that if they would have an examination regularly, many illnesses could be prevented.” Then he added, “An even more important checkup is a spiritual one. And that’s one we can give ourselves.”
“How do we do that?” asked Kevin.
“By examining the vital signs of our Christian life,” said Dad. “First, we need to think about our prayer and Scripture-reading habits. Do we do those exercises every day? What about church? How often do we attend? Then we must look at our attitudes toward other people. Perhaps we need to let God be a surgeon and remove our bad thoughts. We also need to ask ourselves what work we’ve been doing for the Lord to stay healthy.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard,” said Kevin. “I think I’ll give myself a spiritual checkup today.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
When was the last time you gave yourself a spiritual checkup? You’d be surprised by how often a simple lapse in Bible reading, prayer, or church attendance can lead to big problems. God doesn’t want your Christian life to be an unstable, unhappy experience. Be sure to take regular checkups!
TO MEMORIZE:
You should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:28
EXAMINE YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE.
From the book
