This last Saturday evening I ended up going to "Urgent One" with a swollen and very sore throat.
I knew I had to speak Sunday so I didn’t want to take any chances of it getting worse and maybe going into some major infection. The good news is that I was diagnosed with allergies rather than something like strep throat.
The bad news, at least at first, was that I had high blood pressure for the first time in my life.
When I went in, the first person I saw was the nurse who checked my weight and took my blood pressure. She said it was 158 over 105 which surprised me since it had always been about right, or even low. She went on to tell me I needed to see my regular doctor concerning this problem.
When I was able to see the doctor that night I mentioned the problem to him and that possibly the reading was wrong. His response surprised me, for he said that he didn’t think the machine was working and they needed to throw it away. He went on to take the blood pressure manually and it was normal.
This all reminded me of another kind of diagnosis; that of the spiritual kind. The place to find it is not at some doctor’s office but going directly to God’s word; the Bible. It will tell you your spiritual standing with God; whether you are in a right relationship with Him or not. There are only two ways you can be diagnosed; sick or healthy. Jesus said that it was the sick who needed a physician and that He was that physician. The Bible is very clear that the only way to get well spiritually is through Jesus Christ who has the power to forgive sin and place one in good standing with God the Father. It also tells us to get well one must repent and confess these sins and make a decision to be a Christ follower.
When I went to the scriptures I found some very encouraging news and a very positive diagnosis, for I found that I was diagnosed with eternal life.
If you go to the doctor and are diagnosed with the worse of illnesses the most that can happen to you is that you die physically but if you fail the spiritual test there will be eternal consequences. Have you had a checkup lately?