A little boy in a grocery store was standing near an open box of peanut butter cookies. “Now then, young man,” said the grocer as he approached the young man. “What are you up to?” “Nothing,” replied the boy: “Nothing.” “Well, it looks to me like you were trying to take a cookie.” “You’re wrong, mister, I’m trying not to!”
That’s temptation! Jesus was tempted as we are. Temptations are not bad in themselves, but it is what we do with them that can help us turn to God or away from God. At the beginning of Lent the Church always takes us into the wilderness with Jesus, to face the power that is opposed to the Gospel. The Good News is that we do this with Jesus and in the company of his followers.
None of us should have to face the wilderness alone; none of us should be thrown back on our own resources. We are all tempted; we all fail; we all sin.
Sometimes we might wonder if there is an exit from the wilderness. All of us need to hear, like Jesus, the voice of the Father that recognises us as his beloved children. When we hear that voice, the call to repent is the call to stay in the company of the one who loves us. The Gospel challenges us to change our minds about the way we think, change our hearts about the Gospel we ignore, and change our ways about habits of sin.
This is a lifetime’s task. Jesus did not overcome Satan in the wilderness – he achieved that only in his death. Lent reminds us of our need to begin again facing the enemy within us. And the Good News is that when we do that, we take the road that leads us to the kingdom of God. During Lent try to see your temptations as ways to turn to God rather than rely our own resources?