Jesus was tempted a second time by the devil while in the desert. After taking Jesus to the holy city and making him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, the devil said, “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your
foot against a stone.’” Jesus’ response to the devil is “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The devil uses words like “if you are the Son of God” to make Jesus doubt his identity. Remember: “As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with
him I am well pleased.”(Matthew 3:16–17). This voice was confirming Jesus’ identity.
We have heard this same voice many times. We know who we are and whose we are. We are God’s beloved; God delights in us. God has plans for our lives, plans to prosper us and not to harm us. We should not be tempted to put the Lord to the test.
When the devil says to us this Lent, “if you are
a child of God, do this”, we should be able to see the temptation as a way in which the devil is trying to distort our identity as the beloved children of God.
I invite you to spend time today reflecting on your identity as a child of God, sit with the Lord today, speak to the Lord and allow that moment, allow the Lord to remind you that you are loved and accepted unconditionally by God. Notice how you are feeling as you are
reminded of this.
