God calls us to engage in self-examination, a process of honest inspection to assess our spiritual progress. This evaluation is not meant for condemnation but for approval, to determine if we are advancing as God expects. We are to stand aside and look at ourselves, making a sincere assessment of our growth over the past year. God desires us to see the true attitude of our heart, so we can approach the Passover with confidence and a right spirit. There are two common approaches to this self-examination. Some harshly judge themselves, feeling worthless due to past mistakes or painful experiences, believing they are unworthy. Others take a superficial glance at their lives and move on, failing to deeply evaluate their actions, assuming that overcoming sin is beyond reach and that God will understand their struggles. God urges us to be honest in this evaluation, focusing on our present state rather than past issues already repented of. We must identify current flaws and commit to making necessary changes in our lives. Measuring ourselves against Jesus Christ, who embodies the fullness of God's Spirit, we see the standard we strive for. The challenge of self-examination often lies not in a lack of time, but in the personal cost it demands. True evaluation reveals areas needing change, and the price of those changes can be painful as we resist the pulls of our human nature. Despite this discomfort, God still calls us to review our lives honestly and implement the needed transformations. As we seek God's help through prayer and fasting to see ourselves clearly, we must remember that He loves us completely. Even if we uncover significant problem areas, God is ready to forgive upon repentance and change. He understands the trials we face and offers mercy, grace, and forgiveness, removing our transgressions entirely. With a true fear of God, we have no reason to fear this process, for He knows our human limitations and supports us in our journey.

God calls us to turn the glaring light of inspection upon ourselves, to answer truthfully and realistically about what we see. He desires us to seek out our flaws, admit them, and repair them with His help, striving not to repeat the same mistakes. As we navigate this Christian life, He asks us to undertake the hard work of quality control over ourselves, inspecting, admitting, and correcting our shortcomings. In this process of self-evaluation, we are urged to analyze our character and behavior, putting ourselves to the test. The ultimate aim is to determine whether Christ is in us. Do we see the mind of Christ in our thinking? Are His words reflected in our speech? Do His actions mirror ours? Is His character growing within us? Do others see Christ in our witness? Are we aware of His presence and work in our lives, or do we merely blend into the world? These are challenging questions, and often, due to our human nature, we fail to answer them honestly. Our innate aversion to self-criticism leads to self-deception, as human nature seeks to cast itself in the best light. When flaws are noticed, we tend to justify them, dismissing them as temporary or minor, giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt. We readily excuse our sinfulness and judge ourselves as better than we are, emerging from self-evaluations with an inflated sense of our worth. In the journey of self-evaluation, the issue is not always about overt sin or breaking commandments. Often, it is our attitude, perspective, or approach that falls short, revealing a failure to grasp something spiritually vital in the proper way.

In the journey of self-evaluation, we must confront the reality of our own assumptions and misconceptions. We often make snap judgments about others based on limited evidence, using our senses alone, yet we fail to truly understand their inner struggles or circumstances. This same flawed perspective can turn inward, clouding our ability to assess ourselves honestly. We are reminded through the story of Job to abandon preconceptions and false expectations about ourselves, focusing instead on the fruit we produce. Wisdom is justified by its outcomes, and we must evaluate whether our actions yield good results that align with God's desires. It is essential to strip away the lies and faulty comparisons that obscure our self-perception, to see ourselves as we truly are, and to strive relentlessly to produce more and better fruit that honors Him. Only through such honest and radical self-assessment can we identify areas for growth and pursue the path of righteousness.