And they will
do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the
one who sent me.”
You hear it as if
someone is whispering – “you need money, and that wallet contains a lot of
money. Get it, and no one will
know. Get it and buy yourself some
food. Get it, for the owner has
more!” Hearing this, are you committing
sin already? Of course not! But you are being tempted, by no other than
the devil.
And being given the free will, you can
decide whether to ignore or give in to that temptation. And if should give in, then that is
committing sin. Giving in to temptation
to do something against the will of the Lord, that is sin.
Temptation is not deciding between doing
right or doing wrong. If our own lusts
draw us away and full-blown sin results, we have no one to blame but
ourselves. God tempts no man; we are
“tempted” because our hearts do not want God.
Our hearts either accept or reject God’s offer for freedom from
sin. If we accept Jesus as our Rescuer,
he does so instantly. Likewise, if we
reject this God-offer, darkness swallows us up immediately.
Adam stood at this crossroad before time
began. Jesus stood there, too, and time ceased for those who accept eternal
Life. The first Adam chose death; the last Adam—Jesus—chose God’s way, even
though it meant He had to suffer a horrible death despite His innocence.
Our temptation is the same Temptation
experienced by Adam and Jesus. And, just
like Adam and Jesus, we enjoy the fruits of our choice: darkness or Light. We would all be tempted a million times in
our life. But do not be despair. Close your eyes and pray so God may give you
the strength to resist and the wisdom to choose what is right.
That is choosing Light, that is choosing
salvation.
Let us pray +
Almighty Father, through Your Son, Jesus,
give me the grace to be able to reject the things of this world and to cling
strongly to your Spirit within me.
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
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