Journey Through Lent

Today we remain once more in the Wilderness with Jesus.

Jesus, like Moses before him, retreats into the wilderness where he fasts for forty days. Each temptation involves a seizure of power: power over the elements of creation by turning stones into bread, political and military power by gaining power over the kingdoms of the world, and the power to force God's protection in an inappropriate manner. That Jesus was tested throughout his ministry was widely held in early Christianity. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us, "For do we not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathise with out weakness, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin."

We are back with the word of God as a means to overcoming temptation. One commentator puts it this way, “The word of God is living and active, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Much of what we say and what we hear in the day does not bear a second thought. It is empty twaddle. The Scriptures are different. We have given more study and care to understanding them than to any other human words. God’s word is meaty and powerful, pushing us to look at ourselves.”

A well-known author once told this story of an account he had with sea gulls: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. “I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

How sad that even though the bird had plenty of time to fly away, because it delayed it paid the price. Now think of this story in terms of the Christian life. When we become overly enthralled with the things of this world, they can bring us down and cause our spiritual death. The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. If we cannot give up the things of this world and focus on Christ, we cannot be used by Him. Our eyes must be upward on Christ rather than downward on this world.

Facing temptation,

Jesus refused to turn stones into bread.

Facing temptation,

we too often turn bread into stones.

Facing temptation,

Jesus refused to use power for its own sake.

Facing temptation,

we too often take power

that belongs to someone else.

Facing temptation,

Jesus refused to test the promises of God.

Facing temptation,

we too often want God to do

what we should do ourselves.

Lord, strengthen me this day according to your will. Amen