A Way In The WildernessSample

A Focus On Eternity

Jesus was led into the wilderness right after a peak spiritual experience - His water baptism. In The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, author Michael Green explains that temptation frequently comes, and properly comes, to sort out an emotional “high” from the reality of spiritual conquest and growth. We are not meant to live on spiritual highs. We are designed to grow by the seemingly mundane regular feeding of the Word of God. 

For Jesus, the temptations were messianic. It was a test to prove how He was going to lead the people back to God. Would He choose the path of the conquering king or would He become the suffering Servant? Was Jesus going to be the slave of popular expectations or was He going to the cross to win the crown?

The devil tempted Jesus by offering Him the position of a conquering king. But there was a catch. Jesus had to first bow down and worship him. Jesus was offered a shortcut to the kingdom, but shortcuts often come with costly tradeoffs. For Jesus, His choice was of eternal consequence. 

We cannot live on spiritual highs alone, but we must learn to grow through the ordinary, day-to-day feeding of the Word of God. Jesus shows us how to attain this by focusing on the eternal and not the immediate.

There may come a time when you are offered all the riches, fame, power and splendor of this world, but by gaining the world, will you end up losing your soul? As enticing and irresistible as it is, the ends do not always justify the means.

When we reach the pinnacle of what this world has to offer, we would need to look back at what it cost us. Is it going to be at the expense of all that we value and hold dear, an expense that could prove too costly to bear? How you reach your goal is more important than the goal itself, because the process shapes and refines your character.   

• How is the health of your soul today?   
• In your pursuit of progress and success, have you also grown to be more Christ-like in character?