S.I.N.
Scan
By Elin Henderson
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me...”
Most all of us have had (or will have) some kind of
scan of our body: an MRI, CAT scan, ultrasound scan, etc… Its job is to see the
unseen, check out what is going on inside, and then give clarity and wisdom to
the doctors who are deciding on a diagnosis for us. Sometimes, we knew
something was wrong (hence why we were at the doctors). Other times, there were
not any symptoms and yet something revealed in the scan indicated that
something WAS indeed really wrong.
In Psalm 139, David recommended for himself, and for
us, a frequent SIN scan from God. A scan that goes beyond the outward
appearance into the heart itself, looking for areas of degeneration, areas of
division (anxiety = divided), places where growth should be happening but it
isn’t. Or maybe there is an out-and-out infection that is eating our souls
because we refuse to deal with it?
At other times, David speaks of having a clean heart
and clean hands. I can’t help but think that he could say such a thing because
he submitted to frequent SIN scans from on High. If we want to live healthy
spiritual lives full of growth and abundance, we too must submit to frequent
SIN scans… allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any areas of known or
unknown sin, hardness or even atrophy.
Now what we do with the results of the SIN scan is up
to us. Will we recognize the shortcomings, the failures, the areas that need to
be grown and changed? Or will we just choose to allow them to remain as is?
More often than just Communion Sunday, let’s take the time to submit to
frequent SIN scans, keeping our accounts short, our sins confessed, and our
growth in line with what God has for us!
GOING DEEPER:
1. When
was the last time you submitted to a SIN scan from on High?
2. As
God reveals deficit areas in our lives, what are some ways we can be actively
pursuing growth and change?
FURTHER READING:
Oakwood’s
missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as
church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to sixteen-year-old Callie and
fourteen-year-old Elias.
