God calls us to examine what is behind the door of our lives.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“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?”
2 Corinthians 13:5 New International Version

I loved daytime game shoe, “Let’s Make a Deal,” though I haven’t watched the modern version with Wayne Brady. I enjoyed the different costumes people wore and the items they brought to exchange for what they hoped would be an amazing prize like a brand new car. Two people who were willing to trade back their winnings would have a chance at the end of the show to choose between three different doors; The Big Deal.

Valuable items waited behind two of those door, but something of lesser value than what the contestants traded in was stashed behind a third door, but which door would it be? We all waited, and secretly hoped, for that moment when one of the contestants chose the wrong door, forfeiting his or her valuable gift for something of lesser value.

St. Elmo, Colorado

What lays behind door 8 in St. Elmo? Is it something of value or not? Would people leap for joy when they saw was hidden behind this door, or would they walk away depressed and discouraged?

Open the doors of our Christian communities and what do people see? When you read the verse from 2 Corinthians you probably thought that Paul was writing to individuals, but he’s writing to the community: to all you all. Paul’s calling you and me in the context of our Christian communities  to examine our life together; to realize that Christ is in our community.

The community’s faith life centers on Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who forms our life together. It is Jesus Christ who calls us to let the light of our communal life shine in our surrounding communities. We fail the test when Jesus Christ is no longer the focus of who we are and the force behind what we do.

God made a deal with us in his Son Jesus, a deal which includes the forgiveness of our sins. And it is this God who, through his Son, does his work through us. When we examine our Christian communities may we see Jesus front and center.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner