2 Corinthians 13:5-14 (NIV 2011)
5 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? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Reflection:
We know what it means to take tests. Throughout school we took them, and we may be familiar with the routine of answering some questions to receive a grade. But God’s tests are different. He tests not with questions on a piece of paper but with life experience. The tests bring out what is in our hearts and what we live for - do we love God? Do we trust Him?
Paul challenged the Corinthians to examine themselves. Yet verses 11-14 reveal that Paul had great hope for them in passing the test because of the reality of Christ in them. We are invited to examine ourselves as well. We can be encouraged because we have the same hope that Paul had for the Corinthians - the reality of Christ in us, in our church. As we go through each test, may we believe even more that He truly is with us and we love and trust Him.
Response:
God allows and brings tests into our lives so we may know what is in our hearts. Let us spend some time in reflection and prayer, thinking about the tests we have gone through recently or are going through now. Ask the Lord to reveal what He is showing us through the tests. As He opens our eyes, may we turn away from worldly ways of responding and may we respond with gratitude and ask Him to help us to trust Him even more.
