About a month ago, I noticed that our main door had become “tight” such that it now is quite difficult to open or close it. And the deadbolt locks no longer align properly with the doorframe holes. Now I have to “lift” the door in order to lock it.
I thought it was just a matter of loose door hinges, or something of that sort. But after I tried the usual remedies, the problem remained. So I decided to do a little research. And I discovered one possible condition that is specific to our situation. You see, we live in a 25-year-old manufactured house. Such houses are set on supports and then leveled so that the weight is evenly distributed. It is recommended that houses be regularly checked for proper leveling even if the house seems fine. When the house is not level, there are some indicators of the condition. Usually the indicators have to do with some elements of the house being out of proper alignment. And one such indicator is, that’s right, a door that is stuck! And now we are in the process of finding out if our house needs re-leveling. We may need to call on professionals to do the proper adjustments on the house. Hopefully, we can have the problem corrected as soon as possible.
As this year is coming to its end, I realized that the situation I am dealing with in my house has some lessons for our lives, especially as disciples of Jesus Christ. Of great importance is regularly checking whether our spiritual condition is properly level with the standard for right Christian living. We need to pay attention to our life if there are indicators that signal a misalignment with the right standard even when we think we’re doing fine.
“Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it” (2 Corinthians 13:5 The Message).
Paul makes clear that the standard by which we must measure our life, to determine if it is level, is none other than Jesus. It is not enough for us to claim that we are followers of Christ. We must also engage in self-evaluation to discern if the character of our life supports our claim. If something is out of whack, then we must submit to the Lord to let him make the necessary adjustments and re-alignment.
2014 is moving behind us, and 2015 now lies before us. It’s a perfect time for a checkup and to submit to the Lord’s re-leveling work in us.
—Keith Y. Jainga