The Temptation of Christ

As I posted a few days ago, Henri Nouwen has become a good friend of mine through his books. While reading Nouwen's book , "In the Name of Jesus" and spending some time in prayer, I sorta stumbled across this this idea.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the  wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil... And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you be then will worship me, it will all be yours." And Jesus answered him, "it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve" 

When I read the story of Christ's temptation I am unable to connect with the temptations that he was dealt. Christ's temptations seem to be on a different level then mine, I have never been exhausted from a 40 day fast, and then been offered the admiration and approval of the entire world. A typical temptation of mine is getting frustrated when I haven't had my morning coffee and I have to deal with a mile of traffic on the way to work. Even in the midst of much greater temptation, I have never been offered the world in exchange for worship. But we mustn't remove the ability to connect with Christ and forfeit the human qualities of Him in this story. Satan is enticing Christ with the same offer he tempts a believer with.

In suburbia time takes a toll on our soul. While sitting in Starbucks, relaxing in front of our TVs, working in our cubicles, reading our books, and talking to our friends, our lives
take a toll on us. They tempt us to build up walls and partitions against Christ and his community. Our constant temptation is to put up walls to remove all vulnerability and to become our own god. We desire the power that comes from being God, we desire the worship, the love, the acceptance, and the knowledge. Our temptation is the same as Adam and Eve's was in the Garden. Christ
was being offered the same thing in exchange for not going through with the rejection, hatred, betrayal and pain of the Cross. He rejected the qualities and temptation of being God to being murdered as a sinner.

One thing I have learned by working in ministry is that there is temptation to put up walls of a puffed up resume, stories of successful ministry, theological knowledge, and efficiency. I have been tempted to become someone I am not. The reason it is so enticing is because if that version of myself gets rejected, it doesn't hurt as bad as if it was myself. If I was completely vulnerable and didn't hold my self-worth to how other's think of me I could very easily hear and become acquainted with the voice of God. I could experience what Christ experienced right before his temptation. I could be completed under the blessing of God's love and companionship. In Matthew 3, right before Christ goes into the desert he receives what every follower longs for. A visitation of God's Spirit, singing a melody of love over him, as he brings all of himself to the Jordan river. He lifts His eyes to the maker of the world that He will redeem, and His father says "This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased." If we would let the walls down, show up to God with all of ourselves, we would be complete and we could tolerate the temptations of the Devil himself.

These walls, this false self that we all develop comes from multiple places, just like Christ's temptation. Satan gives us an ultimatum which says, "If you prove yourself to me I will accept you." In my life it has come from every angle, as I suspect it has in your life. From my parents, my bosses, my wife, and one day it will probably come from my children. It is an inherent command that we all make on others, and continue to have made on our own lives. These commands spiritually bankrupt us! There is no way that we can fulfill everyone's expectations and neither can we fulfill God's expectation. Our hearts react in two different ways; pride and fear. When we examine our fears in the presence of the gospel, our heart is thawed out of its frozen state by the realization of

God's grace in the midst of our misguided intentions and actions. When we examine our pride through the lens of complete depravity and irresistible grace, we are quickly humbled by the love we receive free of demand. The presence of Christ, the presence of the Spirit, and the presence of a loving Father is all too close for us to neglect. They are fervently pursuing our hearts, and a supernatural experience (supernatural does not imply that it is always easy, enjoying, or even practical) is only minutes of meditation away. We can lift our eyes to the maker of our pain and our pleasure, and be told, "This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased." This knowledge is what will bring us through the temptation of building walls around us that prevent vulnerability and true self experience.