Jesus passed the test.
He was offered food, foolishness, and fortune in place of obedience to the word, the fear of God, and the love of God, and he made the right decision every time.
He is now living in us, and he is now giving us the power to make the right choices – we can live in obedience to the word; we can walk in the fear of the Lord, and we can choose to love God rather than the riches of this world.
It won’t be easy; it wasn’t easy for Christ when he walked the earth, but we have the advantage of having the “author and finisher of our faith”, “our high priest and apostle”, living inside us, ready to stand with us in the fight.
And what is our reward if we win the fight? As Jesus was given the name above all names for his obedience, we have been given his name for our obedience. We are now Christians, followers of The King.
We have become his friends, his family, and his comrades. He accepts our worship and returns it with high praise for us. He has no higher priority than our welfare. He will not rest until we are safely home. His undying ambition is to see us glorified with him.
So where is the danger? Where are the pitfalls? How can we possibly lose? In Ephesians, Paul talks about how we should “redeem the time for the days are evil.” Every day we must decide whether we are going to live for God’s glory or ours, God’s pleasure or ours.
We must constantly remember that Christ has given us his name and his glory that we may be one, and that our well being is his highest pleasure. Christ said, “In this is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit.”
Every day, we must pass the test; we must choose Christ over all competing loves; we must “run the race and fight the good fight of faith.”
There awaits a crown of life for everyone that overcomes life’s trials.
There awaits a crown of righteousness for all those that long for his appearing.
An eternity of Christlikeness is our future and our hope.
Christ himself is our reward!
~ Brad Heilhecker
Restored People Community 