When I first read chapter 13 of 2nd Corinthians, my thought was: "Paul's telling them, like the proverbial modern-day father, 'Don't make me stop this car and come back there to swat you. Now stop fighting!'" He starts out the chapter warning them that he won't be very kind when he visits the third time.
Before he gets there, he exhorts them to 'examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith..." How do you know if you can pass the test? Many people have asked, "If I was arrested for being a Christian, is there enough evidence for a conviction?" One of the tests involved being a reflection of Christ in that He should be visible in our lives.
In one study group, we talked about holding up a mirror to ourselves. This seemed to have two purposes in answering the questions: 1) can you see a reflection or are you a living dead person, like a vampire, and have no reflection? 2) can you fog the mirror with breath indicating that you're alive?
Paul says, "I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test." (v. 6) He's confident that he would be seen in a mirror and would have evidence of life in Christ. From his record, this is obvious.
How is our record? Recently there's been reported an Optimism Bias. We tend to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. This is especially true for men. Are we victims of the optimism bias, thinking that it's obvious we're followers of Christ? Is there evidence of His life in us? Do we really have a reflection of Him, and can we really fog a mirror with inspired breath?
The examination is true for individuals and for groups, like churches. There should also be evidence of life in our churches.
So we need to "test ourselves" (v.5) and repent and risk being more alive!
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