The Second Temptation of Christ - Physical Safety

The second temptation of Christ in the desert was perhaps the most insidious of the three. We read in Matthew 4:5-7 (and Luke 4:9-12) that Jesus was placed in a physically dangerous position (the pinnacle of the temple) by his tempter, who quoted scripture trying to convince Jesus that he would not be hurt if he jumped off, "For it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Quoting scripture to promote falsehoods is done far too often even today. But this is not the deepest concern here. Inherent in the tempter's promise is that if you follow God's will and do His word in your life, He will keep you from harm's way. Psalm 91 is often used as an example of this, and there are many more.

The tempter knew that if he could get people to believe this, they would be set up for a fall that would be very difficult to recover from. People living good lives get hurt somewhere along the way, and then they get angry with God. They question what they have done to deserve this pain and suffering. They turn from God, severing the one connection that would help them get through. The connection with our Creator is replaced with anger, frustration and a sense of betrayal.

The truth is, good people and bad people both get hurt in life. Some worse than others. And most of the pain and suffering in the world is caused by people in the first place. We cause many famines; we cause homelessness; we cause many of the diseases we are trying to cure. We cause accidents through impatience, carelessness, or cutting corners for extra profit. Of course, nature unleashes some of her own fury in earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis, etc. Let's face it - we live in a dangerous place. We make it worse when we try to live above nature rather than with it.

But within the world also comes beautiful things - mountains, trees, flowers, and people who bring love and compassion. There are medicines to cure illnesses; roads to share goods and services; materials to build homes to protect us from the weather and keep us warm; rich soil to grow food; communication networks to share stories and information; and much, much more. We could reclaim Eden if we became a family once again.

We may not be able to prevent physical harm coming to us. Eventually something gets all of us. One thing we CAN count on, though, is that no harm will come to your spiritual self, that is, your true self, regardless of what happens to your physical self. St. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 , "Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

The other thing we can count on, too, is the fact that God WILL be there during our times of trouble to help out, if we let Him. When trouble enters our lives, it is time to turn toward Our Father and not away from Him. We can find Him in friends, counselors, therapists, scripture, pastors, doctors and out in nature. We can find Him deep within ourselves, right there in your heart.