Lenten Word 29: Examination

Just typing this word made me cringe a little as I remembered its meaning while a student. Examination meant a test, which meant a significant part of my final grade in whatever class or course I was taking. The professor or teacher wanted to know how much I had learned and that painful process of taking an examination was the best way to measure my having received or learned their teachings.

During Lent, examination means our giving our spirits and minds a test. How deeply committed and connected are we to God? The purpose of our Lenten Journey has been to draw closer to God, and we're pretty near the end of the 40 days. What better time to ask ourselves how much closer we truly are to God and to ourselves. An examination of ourselves may reveal that we are not the person we have been thinking we are. And the good thing about an examination, like one in a doctor's office, is that we draw closer to a correction for our lives if we find we have missed the mark of where we should be.

The psalmist wrote these words in Psalm 26:2-3: "Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." (NIV). May it be so with us today.

PRAYER: Loving God, examine my heart and my mind; if you find me lacking in anything, help make me right. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.