Subtitle: No matter the subject or issue, I always have afterthoughts!
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Reflecting afresh on the devil’s enticements of Jesus in the wilderness,[1] as I continue my Lenten journey into my soul’s more barren realms, to be more specific about the temptations I face…
Of the flesh. Chiefly, my (over) consumption of food to conceal my greater hungers for self-acceptance and, even deeper, to trust that God loves me, in the words of the hymn, “just as I am without one plea.”[2]
Of power. Chiefly, through my prudent management of my time and schedule in a sometimes unconscious, yet often enough conscious bid (though impossible) to hold at bay (even to attempt to disregard) life’s always uncontrollable chance and circumstance.
Of certainty. Chiefly, through the ostensibly good pursuit of study and knowledge, yet which often (nearly always) leads me to be rigid in my perspectives; thus, judgmental of others.
Long have I recognized these behaviors. That they abide, should I despair, might more than suggest to me that I continue to fail to live into my faith, which calls me to trust in God’s Sovereignty and to love God, the creation, and (all) others as I am loved. Nevertheless, that these my temptations abide, stirs my gratitude for the annual arrival of Lent, which, for me, is the model for my daily living.
Thanks be to God!
© 2022 PRA
[1] Luke 4.1-13
[2] Just as I am, without one plea (1835); words by Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871).
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 