“Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Matthew
4:10 NIV
After Jesus was baptized by John, he went into the desert
and was tested by Satan. Initially, Satan tries to question Jesus relationship
with the Father. He dares Jesus to perform a miracle – turning stones into
bread – to prove that he is God’s son. Then Satan urges Jesus to fling himself
off the pinnacle to test whether God will save him. Finally, Satan shows Jesus
all the splendor of the world and its riches and promises this to Jesus if he
will bow down to him. Jesus ultimate answer to all these temptations is to
worship the Lord and serve him exclusively. How could Jesus be so strong in the
face of the evil attacks? It was because he was sure of the Father’s love.
I will be tempted by Satan, too. I need to follow the
example of Jesus and defend myself with appropriate Scriptures. But most of
all, I need to always remind myself of the Father’s unending, rock solid love
for me. That is what will carry me
through the difficult times, and enable me to be a witness and servant to God.
