You Choose – Day 50

We have now entered a time of Lent.  Ash Wednesday introduced to us the opportunity to begin a 40 day journey.  This journey is to open our eyes to where we may be missing it, where we may be failing to be faithfully living as God’s child, where we may be going in the wrong direction.  It is a time of reflection, a time of repentance, and a time of redirection.  It is the place where we can see where we are and head to the place where we should be.  

The first Sunday of Lent takes us to a familiar scripture.  We know it is as the temptation of Jesus.  Jesus has been baptized.  God has proclaimed him as his own Son.  Jesus has been identified and John has shown others who he is.  It is now time for Jesus to undergo temptation.  This is a preparation of what is ahead.  But it gives us a glimpse into how we may find ourselves tempted in our own lives.  And possibly help us to identify where we may be going in the wrong direction.  The temptations Jesus faces should be eye opening to our own temptations.

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus is led to the wilderness where he is alone.  He spends time in fasting and prayer.  It is a time to grow and prepare, to listen and to seek direction from God.  Jesus has fasted, meaning he has not eaten in 40 days.  It is at this time when the tempter approaches him with his first pull, the first of the enticements to see if Jesus will waiver.

Jesus would be hungry.  Most of us don’t know what it is to fast for one day, much less multiple.  So we have to imagine the cravings Jesus is having for food.  But the tempter asks him to simply take a stone and turn it into bread.  It is a simple request.  This is within Jesus’ power to do.  And Jesus is hungry.  What could be the problem?  It seems to be reasonable.  Surely he has starved enough already.  

The bread is not the issue.  It is the reasoning for turning the stone to bread.  The devil asks him to prove himself.  IF or SINCE you are the Son of God, do this.  It is a temptation to show his power.  It is the temptation to prove who he is.  It is a manipulation to see if Jesus will fall in the face of temptation.  Jesus proclaims his allegiance to following the word of God.

The second temptation takes an interesting turn.  The temptation is still focused on power.  It is still a temptation to prove who he is.  It begins the same, IF or SINCE you are the Son of God.  Except this time, the tempter uses scripture to show why this would be a good thing.  In other words, the devil has taken scripture out of context to prove a point.  He is using God’s own scripture against Jesus.  He is twisting scripture to make it what he wants it to be.  He has plucked a verse from familiar scripture to lead Jesus down a wrong path.  

Jesus recognizes this and combats him with scripture which is in context.  He provides him with scripture as God had given it, in its completeness and not manipulated.  He recognizes what has happened and shows him how to properly use the word of God.  And the power the devil has is not the power he seeks, even as attractive as it may seem.

The third and final temptation is connected to the same idea – I have the power you need.  The urge for power is real.  It has a pull which is attractive and causes many people to slip.  The tempter presents a landscape that is beautiful and amazing.  God’s creation is before him.  And all of this can be his if he simply makes the sacrifice.  Jesus understands the lure and combats him once again with scripture taken in context.  The worship of God is the only true worship, even if it means giving up all the power of the world.  

Jesus has passed the test.  But what about you and me?  We are certainly not Jesus.  We expect Jesus to make the right calls.  We expect him to do the right thing and choose the right option.  We know he’s going to get the answers right on the test.  But what about us?  I think this is an opportunity for us to learn from the test so we are prepared when temptations come our way, and they are, and they will.

Power is attractive.  It comes in the form of envy, greed, manipulation, vanity, and having influence over other people.  It sneaks up on us in our social media, our own mirrors, our own lives when we least expect it.  It causes us to be apathetic or to stop caring.  It twists our longings to become obsessions and shifts our focus on things which do not matter.  It shows up in our words and our actions which become fueled by anger and hatred.  And it happens when we often don’t notice because the attractiveness is so great.  It happens regardless of our age or our status.  And it can look so beautiful but lead us in such dark places.  

That’s why this time of renewal and repentance is so important.  It causes us to stop and really seek God.  It should give us the opportunity to reevaluate what we are doing and why we are doing it.  Have we become captive to the temptations all around us?  For the majority of people, this would be a defined yes, in one way or another.  

Recognizing this is where we begin.  Understand this happens even from those times when the Bible has been quoted and from people who seem to know the scripture.  We can be led to difficult places and choose the wrong path when we don’t know God’s word and haven’t taken the time to study and grow.  We can be tempted to take the wrong path when we don’t understand what it means to follow.

This is a time of awakening.  Power is a temptation which has an undeniable pull.  Yet, God is greater.   His love overcomes.  His mercy is available.  His kindness is life changing.  And we can choose HIM.  Jesus helps us to recognize we are not destined for the wrong path, but we are instead given the opportunity to choose the way of God.  What will you choose?  Where are you missing it?  What are you willing to do about it?  The choice is yours.