Tempting Shortcuts

 Luke 4:3-4 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.’”

 Maybe you are a baker making bread today. This is not evil. Jesus loved bread and so do I.

The devil’s temptation is not about bread. It’s to solve Jesus’ problem with a shortcut instead of trusting God.

Jesus could have rationalized saying ‘yes’.  The temptation is to do something easy (for Jesus) and, in the process, prove to the wily devil that Jesus really is the Son of God.

But to do that would be to disobey God’s plan for his life. Jesus could be the chief baker for Israel but not the Savior of the world. Hence his reply: life is more than bread.

What shortcuts in life are you tempted to take? The world offers many paths to fill our hunger for money, power,  fame. But if we take those shortcuts, we frustrate God’s plan.

God has a plan for your life. Resist the temptation to follow the devil’s easier plan.

Stay true to your calling as a child of God. Don’t settle for shortcuts.