The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
—Matthew 4:1-7
For me, it would have been chocolate.
This moment of testing would begin and end with the Accuser showing up in my moment of deep, spiritual discernment and teasing me with candy. Hershey’s nuggets with toffee and almonds, to be exact. I do keep a secret bag of them hidden in my house for emergencies, you know. Satan would not have to go far to tempt me.
The words sound a lot like the words spoken to Jesus just a short time before: “You are. . .” The Accuser uses words of identity that seem to echo the name spoken over Jesus in baptism. But Satan twists the words from “beloved Son” to “Since you are the son of God.” There’s just enough of a twist to these words to make the temptations sound like they could make sense. Since you are God’s Son, turn some stones to bread, lord over all the earth’s kingdoms, just jump.
These temptations are tailor-made for Jesus. The Accuser’s words hold just enough truth that they tilt the truth towards the lie. Since you are the Son of God, why not?
The Accuser often reaches close to shape the lies that tempt us. There’s always a little truth in the whispers. If only chocolate was the only temptation I keep close by.
Since you have been running around all day, you don’t need to exercise.
Since you are great at handling the details, surely you could handle all of this on your own.
Since you don’t know what to say here, just be quiet.
Since you can’t do much to make a difference here, do nothing.
For me, the Accuser always reaches close. The temptations are for me because they make me nod a little, shrug, and say yes. When the truth, the yes that is said over my life again and again, is that I am, more than anything, God’s beloved.
May we hold close the truth that God speaks in our lives each day: Since you are my beloved, strengthened by my grace and called to such a time as this, let my love be at loose in this world through your messy, wonderful life.
Originally posted on NextSunday in partnership with Baptist Women in Ministry for the Thrive devotional series.
