The Son's Choice

UV 3397/10000 The Son’s Choice
Then Jesus said to him, “ Go away, satan! For it is written and forever remains written, “ You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

Matthew 4 v 10

We are to always choose God over the world and its attractions or seductions. We cannot serve God and mammon or wealth, fame, pleasure, power of this world. We have to reject one and hate it. We cannot love and serve both. When we worship and serve God truly, He gives us a portion of what He considers the best of the blessings we need to enjoy while living this life on earth but our focus should be on the rewards of eternal life. This is the reason that this life is organized like a “zero sum game”- whatever we gain in this life we are bound to lose or leave behind. The One who remains with us is only God, Our Creator and Jesus, the Redeemer. Worship is inspired by a sense of awe at God and a deep sense of love for the Saviour. Whatever we do is meant to serve Him.

Only if we love God with all of our hearts and bodies and minds, can we truly worship and serve Him. Jesus loved the Father with this kind of love and hence, He could clearly see that He had no option other than to worship and serve Him. He used His knowledge of the Word to drive away satan with a rapier thrust of the sword of the spirit. Intimate knowledge of the Word is the sword edge that gives us victory in our lives and keeps us from compromising with the world and prevent us from yielding to the lusts of our minds and bodies.
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We should use the authority of the Word to tell satan off even as Jesus did. If we stay to have a dialogue with him, we are bound to be deceived like Eve and Adam. Instead, we should command him, “Go away, satan.” Even when his own disciple Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from ascending the cross, Jesus rebuked that spirit by saying, “Get thee behind Me, satan!” He spoke directly and decisively to the enemy of our souls and we, too learning from His example, should do so. We are ultimately, servants of God and we take our orders only from Him. We should not allow any extraneous influence or person to affect or sway our decisions away from God.