Loving the Get
I've been reading this incredible book, Moments With the Savior by Ken Gire. It's a devotional of the life of Jesus. I recently finished reading through Jesus' childhood and this morning opened to, "Intense Moments In The Desert" the story of 40 days in the wilderness. Such a familiar story... blah, blah... 3 temptations... blah, blah... stones, a temple, bowing down. When I reread it today I questioned Jesus' motives for the 40 days and nights, the starvation, the tempations. Besides proving he was strong enough to resist Satan, what was Jesus getting from it all? He never heard a single sound from the heavens in all 40 of those long, lonely days.
The first temptation must have been easy to resist. Stone to bread? Please... Eventually hunger can be ignored, after a certain point you don't even notice. The second temptation must have been easy too. Jump from the highest building, test God's power to save... but when you're that tired why would you want to throw yourself off of a building? Way too much work! But the third temptation... bow down and get everything... I imagine Jesus' malnourished, shaking body barely standing there before Satan. After 40 days of fasting, little sleep, intense heat, and complete loneliness I do believe it wasn't as easy as it sounds to simply stand. Without even thinking, Jesus could have fallen to his knees in exhaustion. Should have. But he stood until Satan removed himself. Without a word from heaven, still he waited patiently, trusting. So my question remains... why? What's the purpose of this long fasting, listening, and waiting patiently? And for so long! What did Jesus get? Lets say I were to spend 40 days in the wilderness fasting, what would I get? Would I feel the power of the Spirit in me? Would I be a better, stronger Christian? What about my faith, would it be renewed? Maybe a map would be drawn for me? Mmm, but I think about it more. Why do I have to get something from the fasting, listening and waiting? Don't I derserve something? Too often my motives are terribly selfish. "What am I gonna get?" I work here to get good experience. I spend time with certain people to get a respectable reputation. I go to school there to get a Christian education. I study... to get. I read a book... to get. Once, I even gave a year of service... to get. So, so, so selfish! But this fasting, listening and waiting patiently that Jesus did was a far fetch from being selfish. It was a gift for the one he loved. Not to get, but to give. Give himself. Give devotion. Commitment, like a vow maybe. It's hard to give and not expect to get something in return, but that's real love no doubt! And we don't understand why our marriages and relationships are crumbling.
The first temptation must have been easy to resist. Stone to bread? Please... Eventually hunger can be ignored, after a certain point you don't even notice. The second temptation must have been easy too. Jump from the highest building, test God's power to save... but when you're that tired why would you want to throw yourself off of a building? Way too much work! But the third temptation... bow down and get everything... I imagine Jesus' malnourished, shaking body barely standing there before Satan. After 40 days of fasting, little sleep, intense heat, and complete loneliness I do believe it wasn't as easy as it sounds to simply stand. Without even thinking, Jesus could have fallen to his knees in exhaustion. Should have. But he stood until Satan removed himself. Without a word from heaven, still he waited patiently, trusting. So my question remains... why? What's the purpose of this long fasting, listening, and waiting patiently? And for so long! What did Jesus get? Lets say I were to spend 40 days in the wilderness fasting, what would I get? Would I feel the power of the Spirit in me? Would I be a better, stronger Christian? What about my faith, would it be renewed? Maybe a map would be drawn for me? Mmm, but I think about it more. Why do I have to get something from the fasting, listening and waiting? Don't I derserve something? Too often my motives are terribly selfish. "What am I gonna get?" I work here to get good experience. I spend time with certain people to get a respectable reputation. I go to school there to get a Christian education. I study... to get. I read a book... to get. Once, I even gave a year of service... to get. So, so, so selfish! But this fasting, listening and waiting patiently that Jesus did was a far fetch from being selfish. It was a gift for the one he loved. Not to get, but to give. Give himself. Give devotion. Commitment, like a vow maybe. It's hard to give and not expect to get something in return, but that's real love no doubt! And we don't understand why our marriages and relationships are crumbling.
Is there a difference between wanting God's blessings and wanting God to bless? I guess that is semantics.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about the stuff you wrote about recently. Why do we pray? What if there were no heaven? Anyway...