Until An Opportune Time (Luke 4:13)

 


Monday, February 10, 2025


Psalms 92; 93

Genesis 24:1-21

Luke 4:1-15


Until An Opportune Time (Luke 4:13)


It has been said that the life of Christian ministry is a life of the highest highs and the lowest lows. The closer one gets to that edge of human life, where the spirit and flesh meet, the more dazzling are the views of victory and tragedy. To approach life face-on as a Christian is to experience all things with continually increasing clarity.


This kind of life requires no little amount of courage. And we see the results of failing courage all the time. To truly inspect our heart, to allow the Great Surgeon to remove the darkness within, to follow a life marked by the cross; to also rejoice in high spiritual things that the world considers nothing, like a single baptism, or a mercy from God: Christianity is a grand adventure. But the temptation is to stay indoors and leave the dragon-slaying for someone else. Dull the spirit with drugs, or alcohol, or screens, or busy-work. Create a routine: that seems much more stable and sensible.


Yet Jesus of Nazareth will not leave us alone. Once we learn of him, we cannot un-learn. He has given us an example to follow. He has shown us that, not only is there someone who can defeat evil, but someone has – and it is he.


If Jesus gave us an example to follow only, then we would be left where we had started – sitting on the couch, terrified of monsters. But Jesus has also made open the way for us to be able to follow his example successfully. His death sent the monsters in flight. His resurrection secures for us the possibility of our own victory. His ascension to the place of ultimate authority directs our own path to victory. All this is possible for the one who truly believes in him as their Messiah and Lord, and his eternal nature as God Almighty demands we do this.


Jesus was tempted by the devil. Jesus overcame those temptations. The devil then departed from him until an opportune time – but Jesus kept defeating him, every step of the way. If we are tempted by the devil, look to Jesus, who overcame those temptations, and gives that same spirit of overcoming to all who live in him and not their own strength. Temptations are part of the adventure, and overcoming them through Christ is one of the greatest highs we can experience this side of eternity. It is said that opposition only inspires the Christian to work harder; we are like the kite which, when the wind blows strongly, only rises higher.


What are you being tempted by at the moment? What distractions are you placing in your life to try and ignore it? How might you instead face that temptation straight on and, in Christ, overcome?


Holy Spirit: lead us through this life under your protection. Give us the courage to stand against temptation, and continually remind us that our power to do so only comes through Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

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