2 Corinthians 13: Test Yourselves

“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?” -2 Corinthians 13:5

Paul ends 2 Corinthians with strong words. Rather than soothing encouragement and phrases riff with blessing, he concludes with a challenge and a question.

The challenge? “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” His readers may have been very offended. “What, me doubt my faith in Jesus?” But the point was to cause self-evaluation, not critical condemnation. As Socrates famously noted, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

The question? “Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” The result of personal reflection for the Christian is the joy of realizing Christ lives within us. We often neglect the fact that the One who made us lives within us. The Being who created all beings is with us in this moment.

So today, test yourself. If you are in the faith, you’ll score well. Why? Because Christ is in you. You walk with sins forgiven and your Shepherd leading each step. Today is a test and a treasure.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.