INSPECTION TIME

One cannot drive a car in Pennsylvania unless it is first inspected. Thank God. As financially painful as it sometimes may be, thank God.  I want to know that my car is safe to drive. And the other drivers want to know that I am driving a safe car, not so much because they might be concerned about my safety but because you are concerned about their safety. They don't want me crashing into them because of faulty brakes, for instance. Whether I like it or not, getting my car inspected is the most important thing I'll do for my car this year.

These yearly automobile inspections are also a reminder that a yearly, at least a yearly, inspection is necessary as far as our personal lives are concerned. Sometimes, like yearly automobile inspections, yearly personal inspections can sometimes be quite painful. Yet we simply do need to take the time, at least once a year, to inspect our lives as Christians. The problem is that we probably do not take that time. It is not on our agenda. And there is not a patch on our arm with a number, like the number 8 on my windshield – that reminds us to take some times out (like in July) to go over the systems. Oh, we know it is a good idea, but we have better things to do -- all much less painful.

Those personal inspections are intended to plumb the depths of our psyches, to dig deeply into our inner being to see if we are really living out our faith or if we are just playing at it. We can look good on the outside but the inside of us is a mess. Giving ourselves a quick-glance once-over won't work. We may want to slap a sticker on our forehead and say "okay for another year;" but if we do, disaster may be just around the corner.

It's like that car inspection. Time-wise, money-wise, pain-wise I want the man to give my car the once-over very quickly. I certainly do not want him to find anything wrong with my car, even if I feel he probably will. But deep down I also want to be sure that my car is safe to drive around for another year. I certainly don't want to worry about my car breaking down somewhere between here and somewhere on a snowy winter's night. Thus, as painful as it might be, I need, not just the State, I need to insist on a complete inspection for my car.

And for myself: the spiritual breakdown can take place anytime, anywhere and, usually, as with a car, when it is most inconvenient. Cars never break down right in front of the service station, never run out of gas next to the pump. Our faith never gets into a crisis situation when all is going well. Our faith gets shaky when everything else also seems to be falling apart. To prevent that breakdown, we need a yearly inspection, like it or not.

These summer days are good for that inspecting. We can usually find the time, make the time, to be by ourself to take a good, close look at our life of faith: really give it a good, close inspection; see what parts need tightening, what areas need repairing, what has to be replaced. Chances are we don't need a complete overhaul. But chances are also that a tune-up is necessary. Take time for that inspection. Give ourselves a good tuning-up physically, mentally, spiritually. It will probably the most important thing we do for ourselves all summer, maybe all year.