I took our car in for its regular servicing today. In just 45 minutes the car was checked out according to a specified checklist, oil was changed, and the tires were rotated. All this was done under the manufacturer’s complimentary service, so it didn’t even cost me anything.
Wouldn’t it be great if our bodies were like that? We could go in for an annual examination. The doctor would check us per a prescribed checklist, push there, pull here and 45 minutes later we would be as good as new. Unfortunately, that is not what happens, especially at my age. While the exam might only take 45 minutes and they do check my fluids, corrective action involves much more intensive treatment.
Our souls, spirits, minds and hearts also require more intensive treatment. For one thing we should check these things far more regularly than annually. Also, we should ask a higher authority, God, to exam us. He knows how these parts of ourselves should be functioning and he is a true judge of our character. In addition, the corrections he will make will be far more righteous and lasting. The question is whether we want to make these corrections or not.
Hebrews 12:10-11 says, “For they (our fathers) disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline seems for the moment not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Reluctant Retiree 