Lord, is it I?
Ponder: Self-examination as opposed to suspecting others.
Scripture: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you  not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJ V).
The President blames Congress, and Congress blames the President. Management blames labor, and labor blames management. “It’s not my fault!” can be heard just about anywhere that anything goes wrong – including the church!
Just a few hours before He was arrested, Jesus solemnly told His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me” (Matthew 26:21). What? Betray the Lord? Why, that’s horrible! Who would stoop low enough to do such a despicable thing?
Say, I just might know who it is! I’ll bet it’s that Matthew Levi. I have never trusted him – you just can’t be sure about a Jew who would collect taxes for that bunch of pagans in Rome.
But wait a minute! No, it’s probably Simon – not Peter, but that other Simon. He’s a fanatic anyway, what with belonging to that Zealot party and all. I suppose he’s disgusted that Jesus doesn’t seem interested in establishing a military kingdom.
Then again, it could be James or John. After all, they asked for the two top posts in the kingdom, and Jesus turned them down.
Yes, the disciples had ample reason to suspect each other. To their credit, however, they didn’t! Instead, “each of them began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’” (Matthew 26:22). Each disciple recognized, at least for the moment, his own weakness. Rather than pointing fingers and casting blame, they examined themselves.
When we see room for improvement in the church, a good question to ask is, “Lord, is it I?” It’s easy to point out where brother Such-and-such needs to straighten up, or to list sister So-and-so’s faults. Honestly, humbly focusing our examination inward is more difficult, but much more productive of good!
Remember, when you’re pointing a finger at someone else, three of your fingers point back at yourself!
Song: “Have Thine own way, Lord”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise and thank You for Your mercy and grace toward us. Help us, we pray, to be merciful and gracious to others instead of being suspicious of them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)