X-ray Yourself

Jayanta Chhinchani

Introduction
            A Friend whom I know for the  last ten years was good looking, smart, healthy, and talented. No one could say that he had any health problems by looking at his appearance. He seemed to be okay. He also thought that he was okay till he went for an x-ray. After being x-rayed he came to know that he had a contagious disease. He bitterly cried before me. Since he was smart and healthy, never  thought that he would be having such a disease. Many a time we Christians also think in the same way. Thinking we were walking in the spirit, while actually walking in the flesh. Thinking we were ministering Word in God’s power, while actually ministering in our natural ability. Thinking we did trust God, while actually trusting in ourselves. Thinking we were free, while walking in slavery. Could these things have been true about us?  Could we think that we did not know within our own souls the difference between darkness and light, bondage and freedom? After all, we’d been born again for 10 years. We are not a brand new baby in Christ. We are mature Christians: born again, filled with  the Spirit, a counsellor of others, a teacher of the Word, invited to speak in seminars. We often consider ourselves more spiritual than others, and not subject to such deception. But when we x-ray we get to know what we are and where we are. Of course, it’s hard for those who are on the way toward a big platform, those who have got a position, and those who have already in the ministry for number of years. They may find it difficult to stop once more and x-ray their deeper motives. However, if we x-ray we might not like what we see. Any one who has cut an onion knows the discomfort that comes with the preparation of an onion for consumption. There can be a similar discomfort when peeling back the layers of our lives. The discomfort comes into our lives when we begin to view our vileness and shortcomings. Keirkegaard, the Scandinavian philosopher wrote, “life must be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards.” True Christian life demands to look backward at the less visible layers to understand who we are and who we are not. It demands a humble surrender before God with realization.

Yielding unto the Lord
            Apostle Paul admonished us in Romans 6:13 that we “yield ourselves unto God.”  So that he would let us see who we are and what we are for. We understand ourselves better only when we come to the throne of God. Outside of him, often we do not see our mistakes and weaknesses. We rather begin to pinpoint others. It is not a time for us to find other’s fault. But a time to find out our fault: Where did I fall? What has gone wrong? Am I still the same as I was in the last year? Am I growing in the Lord or slowing? When we take an x-ray on this, we will definitely get the answer about each of these questions.  Often we become the victim of the tendency to project ourselves in such a way as if we are doing okay, although we are not in reality. Outside we seem to be fine while the inside is full of violence and selfishness. The Bible insists us to clean the inside first then the outside will be clean too. I heard from my friend who works in the telephone department that once he went to repair a telephone that was not working. While he went there, the leader of that Christian organization was holding the telephone receiver and talking for a few minutes. He stood at the doorpost till he kept his telephone receiver down and said, excuse me! The leader of that organization asked him what can I do for you. You know my friend replied: Sir, I came to repair your telephone. Isn’t it so funny? There are many Christians who pretend to be what they are not. Such people are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside, but are full of dead men’s bones and rotten stuff on the inside. On the outside they appear to be good, but inside they are full of lies and sins. God knows each one of us individually. Nothing can be kept secret before him. All our secrecies will come to the light one-day or the other. Instead of inviting destruction into our lives, we better invite restoration by yielding unto him. Without him we can do nothing (John 15:5). If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, we can trust him, for he does what is right-he will forgive us our sins and make us clean from all our wrongdoing (1John 1:8-9). David the great king of Israel, hearing from Nathan the prophet yielded himself to God with penitent heart and mind. He therefore was forgiven and brought back to restoration. The Senator Hubert Humphrey said shortly before he died that he wanted to come to the end of his life with pride behind him, love around him and hope ahead of him. He knew unless and until he surrendered his pride unto the Lord he will never have a hope ahead of him.  Any one who refuses to yield unto the Lord will cultivate nothing except destruction. So, if we are fallen away, now is the opportunity to get back to God by confessing our shortcomings unto him. Yielding to God involves our willingness to change. Today may be the day when we should slip out of the chair, get down on our knees and yield our life completely to God, ask him to forgive our sins. Ask him to save our immortal souls. Now is the opportunity. Never miss this opportunity. Who knows we may not have second chance like Esau. This is why the Bible teaches, “Be careful that no one becomes immoral or unspiritual like Esau, who for a single meal sold his rights as the older son. Afterwards, you know, he wanted to receive his father’s blessing; but he was turned back, because he could not find a way to change what he had done, even though he looked for it with tears” (Heb 12:16-17).

Zip it up
      If we live by this creed, x-ray our motives and yield to God, we then come to an end and you can zip it up.  If our love for Jesus has slowed down like the Ephesians (Rev 2:4), do not worry.  Still we can get back to that status of life. All we need to do is:  (1) Remember where we have fallen (2) Repent our sins and (3) Do what we did at first.  Pinpoint our mistakes. Chalk out all that we did against  the Lord and his people. And also remember that the nature of Jesus in our spirits is far more powerful than our flesh. With this confidence repent our heart and mind from sin. Repentance means to “turn from,”  “renounce,” and “die to sin in your flesh.” We need to repent of all that of which God has convicted us on every level. Ultimately, we need to repent of placing faith and trust in the false plumb line images. These are graven images that need to be cast down. The basic false plumb line images are lies, which in our minds have become stronghold and fortress. We have experienced these images for most of our life. It may seem as though a part of us is being torn out of our life. And, in a sense, that is true. `But the part that is being torn out is malignant-cancerous- and has been poisoning and destroying us. The identity that we have perceived through false plumb line images is one that we must totally relinquish, renounce and allow to die. It is a false identity based on lies. Our true identity is in Jesus Christ in our spirit. As sated in 2 Cor 10:4 “Tear down these strongholds, and fortresses. Repent of the false images, fear, pride and rebellion.”  The moment we renounce them from our life, we will certainly experience the love of Christ.  That love will push us up to do what we did at first for Christ. Thus, we become totally free from the law of sin and death. We begin to view our life according to the truth of our identity in Christ