If (Part Three)

LUKE 4:1–9

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.”

CONSIDER THIS

If.

Here it is again. The enemy is relentless. The satan has all the time in the world to repeat the same attack again and again—but aiming that attack on the weakest point of your character, your faith, and your trust.

If.

“Jesus,” the enemy says, “I’m just saying: If this Sonship thing is true, if its real, and you didn’t mishear, misinterpret, and misunderstand what the Father said, then you should probably do a few tricks to prove yourself to him, to others, and to yourself. Perform, Jesus. Perform for your Father. Perform for all of us. Perform to convince yourself you are worth all the love you think has been invested in you.”

Performance, it is well-known in the world of counseling, is a major barrier to becoming whole. We perform to get love. We perform to get acclaim. We perform to get those who should value us of their own accord, acting according to God’s love for us, to give us affection and affirmation and adoration and attention.

We perform because we lack awareness of our belovedness. And loveless people, especially loveless Christians, can pull off performances for a good long while—until one day it all comes crumbling down in a personal breakdown, a relational crisis, or a highly visible public shaming (the worst nightmare for a performer).

Friends, we love him “because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Jesus tasted the sweetness of his belovedness, and his Son-shaped vocation, at his baptism. You and I can experience the same, and should be wary of leading if we aren’t experiencing an ongoing, and I will even say “deeply emotional” connection with our Father who loves us.

THE PRAYER

Lord of the Wild, we admit that we have spent much of our lives performing to get love. There are times we wonder if we can quit the habit, seeking affirmation from you and others from what we do. Teach us what it means, in our emotions, to be loved and needed by you so we don’t court the affections of the crowd or perform to get your love. We are loved as much as we will ever be in this moment, because of who we are—your precious children. In Jesus’s name, amen.

THE QUESTIONS

Can you name any areas of work or life in which you believe you have been performing in order to obtain love? What can you do to break out of the cycle?

For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt

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