The last temptation the devil presented to Jesus in the desert was about power and authority. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.'” (Matthew 4: 8–9)
In other words, when the devil failed in his two previous attempts to manipulate Jesus into doing what he wanted him to do, he made his last gambit trying to make a deal. The devil knew that Jesus came to restore the authority which people lost in the Garden of Eden. So he made him a direct offer, “I will give you everything you came for, but here is the deal – you worship me”.
Anyone who really loves power and authority would have gladly accepted such a generous offer. But Jesus is different, He knows who He is, because He knows Whose He is. And moreover, He knows that the Father loves Him and is well-pleased with Him. In other words, for Jesus the power of love was and is more important than the love of power. Therefore, when Jesus was presented with such a choice, He chose the love of God, and not power without God’s presence.
And this is the mystery of the cross, something that the rulers and authorities of this world are unable to comprehend, because if they could, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2: 8) For them, the love of power is supreme. But God has manifested complete superiority of the power of His love by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5: 8)
You become more than a conqueror through him who loved you. It is God’s love that makes you completely convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 37-39)
When you understand Whose you are, you understand who you are. Let the power of God’s love, and not the love of power, direct you in all of your life’s decisions. Love is the compass, and true power and authority can be founded on the unconditional love of God only.
#FromHeartToHeart Stan & Lana
Jesus Unltd #EverythingIsPossible
