That trip with our Jeep to test transmission repairs put me on the track of thinking about testing. If you look up “test” and “testing” in your concordance you will find many verses. They seem to be of two varieties. The first, we are not to test God. The second, we are to test everything else, including ourselves. The standard for our test, of course, is God Himself. How does what is being test measure up against our Holy God?
We can debate about what constitutes testing and what we should test, but Paul is pretty clear in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” [NIV]
Paul ends his first letter to the Thessalonians (beginning in verse 12) with a list of instructions on how we are to relate to God and each other. Smack dab in the middle is the verse above about testing everything and holding on to the good.
Everything—that would include, well, everything, our words, deeds, thoughts. It would include our desires, our goals, our focus, our relationships, how we handle our money and our time. When we hold all that up against our Holy God, how does it fare?
Once tested, we then are to hold on to the good. Good, as used here is kalos. It means not just something that is good intrinsically, but also something that looks good, is attractive, beautiful, winsome. Those are the things we are to embrace in life.
Help me, Holy Spirit, to test the things of my life and hold on to those that are beautiful in Your sight. Amen
