If You Love Me . . . - Saturday September 19, 2015
Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Matthew 4:7
The summer before we moved to the Philippines, my husband spent six weeks in Manila. I was excited about Mike's opportunity for ministry there, but while he was gone, I started to feel a little bit "unloved" because he didn't write me a letter every day. You see, I had an expectation: "If Mike loves me, he'll mail a love letter every day." Yet this was an unfair test of his love! He had already proved his love for me in many other ways during our ten years of marriage.
It's common (and useless!) to put family and friends to the test like I did. We also tend to do this with God's character. In the wilderness Satan tempted Jesus with "If you are the Son of God, then prove it!" Do a miracle, or at least have your Father God do a miracle. Jesus' answer said God's previous Word is still true and sufficient-don't test God!
Do you think God needs to do things a certain way to prove Himself to you? "God, if You really love me, You will give me my dream job." "If You exist, do a miracle to prove it." "If You are really with me, don't let the tornado hit my house." (I've lived most of my life in Tornado Alley!)
Testing God is an in-your-face-insult. You're saying that past evidence is useless; you want certain results to prove it again (and again and again). If God doesn't do ___ (fill in the blank), then you decide either He doesn't exist or He isn't good. But you can trust what God has already said and done. Past proof is sufficient for knowing God's love today!
Submitted by:
Rita Bergen
Cornerstone Community Church
Overland Park, Kansas
One-Year Reading Plan:
Isaiah 30:12-33:9
Galatians 5:1-12
Psalms 63:1-11
Proverbs 23:22
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