If. 

It’s a two letter word with so many possibilities – so much potential and hope!  It’s a dream that provides direction and meaning.  And in America, we dream BIG!  We dream of the fullness of life– we dream of “more”, ‘bigger’, ‘better’:   ‘If I work hard, people will see me as…’ ‘If I save my money I’ll be able to…”  “If I step over the line just this once I…’  

‘If” can seduce us and entrap us OR it can lead us to new prospects and discoveries. “If” gives us choices to evaluate.  We wonder ‘What if I choose this or that?’ In our minds we have a rubric that directs decisions on our journey. 

May I suggest, as followers of Jesus, we consider “nonviolence” as our decisional lens? Jesus gives us a nonviolent example to guide us and help us discern our “IF’s” when we are tempted.  We should ask, “what did Jesus do?” and look at Scripture.

3 times the devil tempts Jesus and challenges Him in His weakness and vulnerability: 

“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”

“All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

Notice, each temptation begins with “IF”.  The devil offers Jesus personal fulfillment, power, and an opportunity to be greater than God.  But Jesus doesn’t fall for it.  Instead, he leans into what he heard God profess when He came out of the Jordan River. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  

Jesus does not betray His identity in God.  Jesus trusts His deepest awareness that He is the beloved son of God.  He doesn’t let His own physical needs or any temptation to misuse power confuse Him.  Nor does He give in to evil.  Instead, Jesus remembers Who and Whose He is and claims His deepest identity. 

What if we did the same when faced with temptation?  What if we remembered that we too are the beloved of God?  

No longer would our own needs be our first focus–we would concern ourselves first with the needs of others, especially the marginalized.  If we named ourselves as children of God we must speak out for justice.  We must claim the power of God within us and place ourselves in situations that confront abusive power because it’s the Jesus Way; it’s what Jesus would do.  

Importantly, we remember that it is Universal Love that defines who we are, and that Universal Love invites us to deny empires of the world and courageously confront pretenders who claim authority, trusting in the One who loves us unconditionally.

Temptation only lures us away from our deepest identity: oneness in God.  During this season of Lent, let’s respond to the ‘If’s’  in our world by claiming our belovedness and following the nonviolent Jesus.  Let’s receive the fullness of life, and worship our beloved God of Peace.