As we approach Passover, we are admonished by God to examine ourselves in order to partake of the Passover in a worthy manner, lest we fall under condemnation:
“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27).
This self-examination is required since we have a tendency to get so involved in our work, marriages and other activities that we generally don’t take the time to see how we are doing spiritually and we at times let things slip.
Since the Days of Unleavened Bread picture putting sin out of our lives for seven days, it shows that completely putting sin out is not an easy task which can be accomplished in one day; rather, we have to really work at it.
Examining oneself requires that we honestly evaluate how we are doing spiritually. Have we made headway in being more like Christ and walking in His footsteps? Are we closer to God than last year? Have we overcome rather than succumbed to sin? Have we replaced bad habits with good habits? Have we replaced sin with righteousness?
It’s easy to let things slip a bit, humanly speaking, in letting down in prayer, study, meditation and fasting which are the tools for maintaining a good relationship with God—all of which is needed so that we can grow spiritually stronger.
Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is always looking for opportunities to trip us up and get us to sin. A little bit of compromise is like a little leaven (sin) which leavens the whole lump.
Satan is compared to a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). A lion does not attack a healthy animal knowing it reduces his chance of success. He looks for a weak, wounded or young animal, since they cannot escape so easily.
If we are strong spiritually and close to God, Satan will leave us alone, but we have to resist him as admonished by James:
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
We are in a better position to accomplish this if we are drawing closer to God and not relying on our own strength. It’s a spiritual battle we are fighting, and we must be spiritually armed and ready.
Let’s ensure we are doing a thorough self-examination and making the effort to put sin out of our lives in order to partake of this Passover in a worthy manner.
