Sunday, February 29, 2004
Temptation and Challenge
Is God the only one who can save us? Are dependant upon God alone for salvation? Spong states that we don't need rescuing, we need empowerment. Can we save ourselves and present ourselves to God and say "Glory be to you, Almighty Creator! I have purified myself and come to give you thanks and praise!"? Can we say this? Does it assume that we expect God to treat us as equals with God? Is this act still too full of a persons Ego and not enough humility before our creator?
I think that we can save ourselves. I imagined what I would say to the Devil if I were being tempted in a way that Jesus was tempted:
"I can pay all your bills, give you a line of credit, and get you a good job. All you have to do is worship me."
"God doesn't give us points for doing things the easy way."
"I can set you up for life, you can spend all day lounging doing whatever you want, all your desires will be filled, all you have to do is worship me."
"That's a good offer, but there's no such thing as a free lunch."
"I can make all sorts of bad things happen to you. Look what I did to Job. Do you want to live like that? Do you want everyone to abandon you and think that God has abandoned you too? Do you think that God will come to your rescue?"
"No. God would not intervene directly on my behalf, but someone else would. God doesn't protect me from all harm because he doesn't need to. My Love is not for sale."
And so it goes. I don't think that I would perform so well if I were truly tempted in such an obvious way, which is why temptations creep up and act really sneaky. I must find the strength in myself to resist temptation and keep my mind, body, and soul pointed towards God.
Other analogies are running through my brain. I hear Luke Skywalker ask Yoda "is the dark side stronger?" and Yoda's response: "No, it is quicker, easier, more aggressive. You must feel the force flow through you." In Christian terms we have to let the Holy Spirit flow through us. We cannot save ourselves, we have to let go of the control we want to exert and let the Holy Spirit carry us away. Go with that flow. We have to trust God and the Spirit even when we cant' see the end of the road, and that is the hardest challenge of being a Christian. ¶ 3:43 PM
I think that we can save ourselves. I imagined what I would say to the Devil if I were being tempted in a way that Jesus was tempted:
"I can pay all your bills, give you a line of credit, and get you a good job. All you have to do is worship me."
"God doesn't give us points for doing things the easy way."
"I can set you up for life, you can spend all day lounging doing whatever you want, all your desires will be filled, all you have to do is worship me."
"That's a good offer, but there's no such thing as a free lunch."
"I can make all sorts of bad things happen to you. Look what I did to Job. Do you want to live like that? Do you want everyone to abandon you and think that God has abandoned you too? Do you think that God will come to your rescue?"
"No. God would not intervene directly on my behalf, but someone else would. God doesn't protect me from all harm because he doesn't need to. My Love is not for sale."
And so it goes. I don't think that I would perform so well if I were truly tempted in such an obvious way, which is why temptations creep up and act really sneaky. I must find the strength in myself to resist temptation and keep my mind, body, and soul pointed towards God.
Other analogies are running through my brain. I hear Luke Skywalker ask Yoda "is the dark side stronger?" and Yoda's response: "No, it is quicker, easier, more aggressive. You must feel the force flow through you." In Christian terms we have to let the Holy Spirit flow through us. We cannot save ourselves, we have to let go of the control we want to exert and let the Holy Spirit carry us away. Go with that flow. We have to trust God and the Spirit even when we cant' see the end of the road, and that is the hardest challenge of being a Christian. ¶ 3:43 PM
