True Self-Examination
H. W. Beecher. Galatians 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Around the masterpieces in the galleries of Europe artists are always congregated. You may see them standing before Raphael's transfiguration, copying with the nicest care every line and tint of that matchless work, glancing constantly from their canvas to the picture, that, even in the minutest parts, they may reproduce the original. But if, at one side, you saw an artist who only looked up occasionally from his work and drew a line, but filled in there a tree or a waterfall, and there a deer or a cottage, just as his fancy suggested, what kind of a copyist would you call him? Now, true self-examination lies in ascertaining how nearly we are reproducing Christ. He has painted for us in no gallery; but His life glows fourfold in the Gospels, and our hearts are the canvas upon which we are to copy it. Let us not take occasional glimpses, and work meanwhile upon earthly designs; but let us look long and earnestly till our lives reflect the whole Divine image. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. WEB: But let each man test his own work, and then he will take pride in himself and not in his neighbor.