Temptations - Love
Temptation - Love & Esteem
Then the devil took him [Jesus] to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Matthew 4:5-7
What a peculiar temptation. For many, the idea of jumping off a building can make your palms start to sweat and your heart begin to race. How is this even remotely tempting?
Inherent behind this temptation is certainly the recognition and esteem that would be immediately afforded as Jesus, caught by angels in full view of all that were watching, was revealed to be the long awaited Messiah. In one simple act, Jesus would be immediately loved and esteemed by all, but in doing so He would short circuit His journey to the cross and the plan for redemption set in motion back in Genesis 3.
While jumping off of a building likely doesn’t appeal to you, we all carry within us a fundamental need for love. Tim Keller puts it this way, “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”
If we are honest with ourselves, our need for love and esteem is one of our strongest motivators. Satan tempts us to meet our legitimate need for love in illegitimate ways, so we seek to earn it through perfectionism or being good enough. Our longing for love to be reciprocated can lurk below the surface of seemingly selfless acts of service. We can seek love through our accomplishments, productivity, by being unique, knowledgable or strong.
Many of us would assent that our deepest need for love is only satisfied in God, but our actions reveal that we are desperately searching for love in other places. The invitation before us today is to seek the love we are longing for in God, for He alone can satisfy.
“You’re already so loved, you aren’t earning a breath of love or tenderness more than what you already have just by breathing - just by existing, just by being here in the wonder… You are known. You are loved with delight and abundance, with voice and desire, with covenantal love. You may feel it or not. You are so loved.” - Sarah Bessey
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:9-10
For reflection:
Begin by finding a quiet space where you will be undisturbed. As you quiet your mind, take five minutes to simply be still in the presence of God. As you do so, imagine His loving gaze, free of any judgment, resting on you. Feel yourself being loved by Him for no other reason than simply because you are His child. Reflect on what this experience was like for you:
Prayerfully consider, where am I most tempted to seek love and esteem outside of my relationship with the Lord? After writing out your thoughts, share them with the Lord…
There is an invitation before you right now to receive the unmerited and unconditional love that God has for you. What does it look like to take hold of that in this season? What does it look like to lay down the ways you had been seeking love outside of Him?
Enuma Okoro
Merciful Lord, sometimes it seems like we can't help but lose our way again and again. Our hearts long to follow you but you know the way of the human heart. You know how in our misguided longings we veer off our journeying to you and begin to chart our own ways by false stars and distorted visions. Forgive us. Forgive us for all the times we are tempted by the hints of light instead of remaining steered by the assurance of Light. Forgive us when we forget that we are already claimed by you, loved by you, and purposed for you. Forgive us when we allow ourselves to shape and be shaped by voices and words that do not bring life, create life, nurture life, sustain life, or resurrect life.
Merciful God, help us find our way again. Turn us back towards the road spotted with your other pilgrims, wayfarers, and repentant servants. Remind us that your Way is the way of returning. Guide us by your Spirit and by your Light. Make us remember the Power of the Spirit within us. Make us remember the gifts of our minds, our hearts, and our bodies that you have bestowed on us, that we would use them to honor the directives and the invitations you lay upon us. We know that our ways are not your ways. And we thank you for this. Help us trust your ways over our ways. Remind us of your faithfulness as you forgive us
our short memory. In your immeasurable love, grace, mercy, and wisdom, do not abandon us regardless of how often we lose our way. Place your wounded hands upon our broken hearts and turn us towards you.
Lord of Light, Lord of the Life, Lord of Resurrection. Amen.
