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That
is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God.
Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours
understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet
he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There
we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
(Hebrews 4:14-16 NLV). During the
bloody combat in Mogadishu, Somalia, recently depicted in the film Black
Hawk Down, Army Sergeant Christopher Reid lost a leg and part of an arm.
General Gordon Sullivan, in his book Hope
is Not a Method, recounted his visit with Reid in the hospital. "Chris
told me his story in a strong, unwavering voice. He did not have to be there
that cold, winter morning, but he wanted to be with his squad, with his friends,
one more time. He then looked into my eyes and with great determination said,
'You know, sir, knowing what I know now, I would do it again.'" As we
continue our Lenten devotionals, I am drawn back to the temptation of Jesus in
the wilderness (cf. Matthew 4:1-11). Like Sergeant Reid, Jesus didn't have to be
there, but "he wanted to be with his squad, with his friends." Also
like Reid, Jesus made a sacrifice on behalf of his comrades. It doesn't take a
great theologian to recognize that the wilderness Jesus entered and his
confrontation with Satan represent the world in which every one of us lives. Our
spiritual situation is comparable to the plight of soldiers trapped behind enemy
lines. The firefight is fierce. "Succumb to your addictions!" says the
Evil One. Enjoy excessive obsession with food, alcohol, drugs, nicotine, sex, or
pleasure. "If it feels good, do it!" Or, as he put it to Jesus,
"Tell these stones to become loaves of bread." There aren’t any of
us who don't have some severe wounds from that attack. Maybe it's small arms'
fire but it's jut as deadly as any other attack. There are also the heavy
artillery rounds that lead you to challenge the presence and care of God.
"Go ahead, ask God to prove Himself by making a miracle happen in your
life!" says the Evil One. "What loving God would let you lose in the
stock market or not let you get the promotion you deserve? If He's so powerful,
let Him prove it by taking your wife's cancer away?" There are scores of
incoming shells like that every day. "Jump off the temple spire, Jesus, see
if your Father's promises are really true." And, as if those aren't enough
assaults on our being, there are still the shattering grenades of the
superiority syndrome. "Do whatever it takes to get to the top of the heap!
Slander others with gossip, you know you're better than they are anyway.
Maneuver and manipulate your way around the fools and losers of this world. It
only takes a little creative financing sometimes to pass up the rest of the
pack." The Evil One summarized it well in his offer to Jesus: "I'll
give you all the kingdoms of this world and their glory if you'll worship
me!" For years, military leaders have known that the strongest commitment a soldier has in combat is not to any high ideal, democracy, his country, or the flag. Instead, the primary reason he's willing to risk his life is for the sake of his comrades. "I'll cover you," the soldier assures his friend. And by that he means he will risk his very life for his fellow soldier's safety. Come what may, he will not desert his friend. If necessary, he will go to hell and back to rescue him. Jesus didn't have to come into our wilderness. He didn't have to face the full assault of the evil one. Yet he did, solely because of his personal commitment to rescue each one of us. "We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses," says the writer to the Hebrews. "He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn't sin. So we can go confidently to the throne of God's kindness to receive mercy and find grace, which will help us at the right time." If we take it seriously and listen carefully to its messages, Lent is a time of stark reality about our messed up and besieged lives. But it is also a time when we see the full implications of Jesus' willingness to risk everything to rescue us from the assaults that can destroy us. Praise God that our Rescuer and our Friend, Jesus Christ, has come into our wilderness! He came because of a personal commitment to you and me. He takes on the full assault of the enemy for us. "He was wounded for our rebellious acts. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace, and we received healing from his wounds." "I'll cover you," he assures us - "so we can go confidently to the throne of God!" |
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