Would God worship his own creation?! October 21, 2008
Posted by tonyrhodes in A hope and a future.Tags: Add new tag, Temptation
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For something to be a temptation it has to be based on something you really want, but in most cases it is an apparent shortcut to the object of your desire. Adam and Eve were tempted to take a shortcut to being like God, not realising they were already like him, but just needed to grow patiently in wisdom and knowledge, staying in their original intimate friendship with him. A baby has the potential to be an adult, hopefully with all the processes in place to grow into one, but it cannot yet function fully in conscious thought or in physical strength. Compare this with a being who is just like God, but does not yet know how to use his abilities. (The ‘Superman’ idea is a reflection of this. As a child he was super-powered, but had not yet learned how to use those powers to their full effect).
Adam and Eve allowed their desires to become more important to them than doing what God had said, and consequently a separation occurred which could only be bridged by Jesus.
Consider then, Jesus wants to do what he sees his Father doing; he would not do anything unless he saw the Father doing it. He wants to see the gulf between man and God gone for ever, and he knows he is on Earth for that purpose. He knows that everyone and everything will ultimately be under his feet. So, how was Jesus’ temptation tempting?
Imagine, he is praying for Father’s will to be done on the Earth. He so wants everyone to have that same relationship with God that he has. He knows that unless people look at him they will not see the Father. He knows that Father intends for mankind to be his bride. Temptation focuses on appearing to make the realisation of these desires quicker and easier. ‘Bow down and worship me and I will put all the kingdoms of the world under your feet’.
Same deception again. Eve and her husband were originally like God but she still listened to the whisper ‘You will be just like God if you eat the fruit of this tree’. Jesus was already destined to rule over everything, but the whisperer says ‘Have it now!’
How often do we pre-empt God’s will for our lives by taking a shortcut to intimacy, rather than marry in love and faithfulness. Or how often do we restlessly pursue what we think is God’s plan for us instead of resting in his strength to fulfil our destiny.
Turning stones into bread would not have been trusting Father to meet all his needs.
Jumping off the temple does not sound like what Jesus saw the Father doing. Not his style at all!
Wrong kind of worship.
Jesus wants to woo us, not control us. He wants to marry us, not enslave us.
Imagine if Jesus had bowed down to the deceiver.
Horrible!
God bowing down to his own creation?!
History would have been very different.
Good post, Tony. Nice to see you writing again!