It's Not About You!
Scripture Reading — Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1
It's not about you! What do you think of that statement? Our secular world tells us the opposite is true. Our culture is full of phrases like "You've earned it" or "You've got it coming."
In our reading for today Jesus meets the devil in the desert and is tempted to enjoy ease, power, and fame. Jesus chooses otherwise. He takes the road of inconvenience. Would we do the same? Jesus models an important truth: the way we follow him points out why we follow him. Jesus answered all the devil's questions with the words of Scripture, the only way to follow the Lord.
Are you hungry for more of God's Word or for more material blessings? Does God have to prove himself in order for you to experience his presence? Are other things competing for your worship? These questions were put to Jesus. Only by holding firmly to God's Word and praying that God's will be done in him was Jesus able to refute every temptation that would pull him away from his mission: saving us from ourselves.
In his book Sacred Thirst, M. Craig Barnes notes that we praise God not because God is an egoist but because we need to "enjoy the freedom that comes only from realizing it's not about me." It's all about obedience! When we follow the inconvenient gospel of Jesus, we will grow like him in every way.
<p>Thank you, Jesus, that it's not about me but about doing your will in your way. By your strength, help me to become more and more like you always. In your name, Amen.</p>
About the author — Reginald Smith
Dr. Reginald Smith is senior pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for seventeen years. He has also served as a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Janelle, Katrina, and Mariah.
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