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Examine the Day By Professor Andrew Dyck
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s a boy, I picked raspberries for several summers. Whenever I had filled a flat with fruit, the farmer would weigh it on a balance scale to discern two truths: the truth of how much I had picked and the truth that I had not hidden rocks or dirt clods under the berries. The pointer or tongue of the scale pointed out the truth of my berries’ mass. In Latin, the tongue on a scale is its examen. As Christians, we need an examen to help us discern the truth about our lives. Socrates is credited with saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In Romans 12:3, we’re reminded to think about ourselves truthfully “with sober judgment.” Sadly, self-examination can debilitate us with crippling guilt, paralyzed decision-making, or glib self-praise. We need a more truthful and more loving examen. 1 John teaches us two complementary practices that comprise the examen we need. With these practices we welcome God to inspect our lives, freeing us to live in peace.
Confession, Acts of Love
One part of the examen is acknowledging to God
our sins (1 John 1:8–2:2). God expects us to stop sinning (1 John 2:1)—to become like Jesus. To say we’re already free of sinning is to lie and call God a liar (1 John 1:8, 10). Instead, we need the habit of naming our specific sins and confessing them to God (1 John 1:9). As we become honest about our sins, we’ll discover that God is so faithful and righteous that he forgives and purifies us through Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9, 2:1–2). The other part of the examen is acknowledging to God our acts of love (1 John 3:18–24). We need to notice the ways in which we’ve cared for other people concretely and practically (1 John 3:18). This is necessary whenever we feel
1 John 1:8-2:2 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (NIV)
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