The Temptations of Jesusਨਮੂਨਾ

The lure of defining ourselves by our actions or our needs.

A renowned storyteller once said that storytellers possess a powerful ability—they can engage us in tales that lead us to the destinies chosen by those who tell them. We must be cautious about giving someone the authority to narrate emotionally compelling stories in which we are the protagonists. While stories can inspire us, they also have the potential to manipulate us. Ultimately, this can lead to a situation where our faith in God becomes shaped by our imagination, resulting in a deity created in our own image—one that fulfills our desires simply by "manifesting to the universe."

The enemy understood that in order to defeat Jesus, he needed to alter the history of His identity so that a different narrative could be written. This is why he began with, "If you are the Son of God," and then challenged Him to prove it by turning stones into bread.

We often face the temptation to define our identity by our actions. The enemy encourages us to pursue short-term success instead of engaging in a larger story that transcends our time on earth. This pursuit may lead to immediate victories and allow us to showcase our skills and ambitions. However, we overlook the hidden message that states, "You must believe your worth lies in what you do, and you'll never be accepted unless you achieve something significant in the narrative controlled by someone else." By believing this lie, we strive to prove our success at any cost, prioritizing competition over connection. As a result, people become mere tools for our interests rather than reflections of God's image and likeness. This mindset leads us to dehumanize others, prioritize productivity above all else, and ignore our intrinsic value as individuals.

How did Jesus answer?: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Neither my hunger nor my thirst nor any other circumstance will change who I truly am. I choose to live within God's universal plan. C. S. Lewis said it best: "Everything that is not eternal is eternally out of fashion."

Do we dig deeper, thinking about how to escape the hole? Do we create philosophies or reasoning to justify our positions, or do we choose to align our lives with the Cosmic History of reconciliation? We are all designed to bear fruit, but we must always decide where we want to build our solutions.