2 Corinthians 13:5-10

Author: Kevin Pugh

"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?  And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.  Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.  We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.  This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down."

Key Verses

 “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?”

Devotional

For those who do not know, before entering ministry full time here at Saturn Road, I was a kindergarten teacher for five years. Even during kindergarten, examination is a huge part of what I did. I would keep running records of each student. Now, for a kindergartner, these exams or tests (or assessments) it was about letter recognition, sounds, handwriting, how they treated others, etc. For me as the teacher, it was about preparation, classroom management, lesson planning, professionalism, etc. All that to say, I was constantly looking both inwardly and externally with an eye of assessment: where did we start, where are we now, where are we going, and how will we get there? I was constantly putting my students and myself to the test.

For many of us, exams are a thing of the past. But still, testing is a huge piece of life for us all: employee evaluations, examining if (insert any relationship here) is where it needs to be, does this shirt make me look fat? We are constantly looking externally or having someone looking at us externally. I want to call you to Scripture where we are called to examine internally. Paul calls us in this selected text to look at ourselves and put ourselves to the test. The test? Are we living out the faith we profess? The measuring stick?  Simple: when you look inside, do you see Jesus?

During this time of Coronavirus, the Presidential Election, our ever-fluctuating economy, the impending holiday season, etc., what matters is not the external and how it influences us. It matters how the internal influences and impacts the external. Earlier in 2 Corinthians, he really drives home this idea of Christ living in us. Take a moment. Pick up your Bible. No, not your phone. No, not on your computer. And no, don’t just skip ahead. Open your Bible and read 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. God is constantly flipping things on us. We as humans focus on the external. God places focus on the internal. We focus on the temporary. God focuses on the eternal. We focus on the flesh. God focuses on the spirit. We focus on present troubles. God focuses on later reward. We want the world to see us. God wants the world to see Jesus.

So that is the test. Take a good look at yourself. Don’t look in the mirror. Look at your heart. Do you see Jesus?

Questions

·       When you look inside and examine yourself, who and what do you see?

·       If we fail the test, are we a lost cause? (No! Examine the life of Saul/Paul)

·       When you know there is a test coming, you prepare… What can you do this week to prepare for the test?

Kevin Pugh

Kevin is a gifted servant of God who loves Jesus and his family and enjoys almost all sports. Kevin, his wife, Brittney, and their daughter, Penny, have been worshipping with Saturn Road since July 2020 where Kevin serves as one of our youth ministers.