SELF-EXAMINATION OUR FIRST DUTY.
By Mrs. Lenna Iselin
“EXAMINE yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” 2 Cor. 13:5. This text does not read, Examine your brother, and see if he is in the faith; but, “Examine yourselves.” No matter how many faults we find in our brother, we can not overcome them for him. Each one must work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. Here is real home missionary work for everyone of us; and it is a work that we must do, before we shall be in a proper condition to help others. “Examine yourselves.” Look in the dark corners of your heart, and bring forth every sin, fault, or weakness; lay all at the feet of Jesus, and with his help overcome; for we read, of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are redeemed from the earth: “They are without fault before the throne of God.” If we give ourselves an impartial examination, we shall find so many faults of our own to look after that we shall not find time to look after the faults of our brother. If we first cast the beam out of our own eye, we can then see clearly to cast the mote out of our brother’s eye. Though we find ourselves faulty, we must not allow this to discourage us; for there are many precious promises to the overcomer. Here are some of them: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” If we ourselves are right before God, our influence will broaden, and our lives will be a continual sermon to those around us — a sermon far reaching in its effects.