Matthew 4:1-4

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’

The word “tempt” is not about enticing us to sin, but to “test” us. What we call temptation is not meant to make us sin; it is meant to enable us to conquer sin. It is not meant to weaken us, it is meant to make us emerge stronger and finer and purer from the ordeal. Temptation is not the penalty of being human, temptation is the glory of being human. We look to Jesus, who challenges the idolatry of consumption, egotism and trading-off of values, and we use this time for rehearsing our small “nos” as we concentrate on our big “yes” to God – and God’s big “yes” to us, the gift of Jesus. – Nathan Nettleton laughingbird.net