Fame, fortune, power and pleasure

The “glory” of this “world” is the opposite of God’s Glory.  What I naturally seek, and maybe you do too, is fame, fortune, power and pleasure.  I want to be great at something that the whole world thinks is important so that everyone knows me and thinks well of me.  If I could only sing like an angel, or be able to throw a bouncy ball through a metal ring; if I could only do what others cannot, I can be special, and I would earn love for myself.

Jesus did not seek this “glory.”  Satan tempted him to seek this glory though.  By turning stone into bread he would meet a legitimate God-given need.  By jumping off the temple and having the angels “catch” him he would instantly draw attention to himself and his divinity.  And he could skip the cross and everyone would bow to him, if only he bowed to satan.

Jesus rejected each of these plans of satan.  He said eating was not as important as obeying (loving) God.  He said we “test” God by obeying him, not demanding he obey us.  And he chose to love God and bow to him, even if that meant dying on the cross; rather than to submit to evil, lies and coercion in order to have the world bow to him.

Jesus chose to give love to others, rather than “earn love for himself.”  He chose to value others above himself (not that he was less than others, but he chose to place them ahead of himself so that they would feel the honor he had for them).  God is love and Jesus is God, so Jesus is love.  And he wants to give himself to you.  He wants you to know that he loves you, and that he cares about you and what you care about, and that he wants to sit down and have coffee with you, and just talk.