Testing or temptation? I once read a book about youth ministry that used a term I've thought about ever since. The author said we often proclaim to our students a 'gospel of sin management'. Avoid these temptations and you're on the right path. The problem comes when you don't avoid temptations. Where is the path back to Jesus if it was only my goodness that mattered? Testing on the other hand is a way to check progress and a way to measure growth. What if the point of the testing of Jesus in the wilderness is not so much—just be like Jesus and avoid temptations, but rather look how God is preparing His Son for His ministry? How might Jesus be testing you in preparation for yours?
God of the wilderness, we feel tested and tempted daily. Help us to trust what You may be preparing us for and to follow the way, to follow Jesus, back to You. In His name, Amen.
