“Follow Me Into the Desert”
“Jesus was led by The Spirit into the desert.” Luke 4:1
“How can your patience be crowned in heaven if no adversity befalls you here on earth?” Thomas a Kempis
When have you experienced the desert?
Not the literal desert, but the figurative one; that dry and thirsty place where you are all alone, directionless, seemingly devoid of anything divine and that is replete only with that which is dismal. The deserted place where you are faced with temptations and adversity, and battle the demons that haunt your soul and hinder your walk with God.
Jesus went to that place, both literally and figuratively, and there encountered the unholy trinity of the devil, temptation, and adversity. To follow Jesus means that we also must take a similar journey. There is a popular idea that when one comes to faith in Christ life will be pure pleasure solely comprised of unicorns and rainbows. Granted, there is great joy, peace and other gifts of The Spirit that allow one to transcend life’s temporal troubles as one walks in The Way. However, in order to have Christ formed in us, and be transformed into the person God intends us to be, we must descend from the mountain and dwell for a time in the dry, dark and desolate deserts of life.
It is in that place of desperation and desolation that we encounter the devil, or at least the demons that haunt us. St. Anthony, the first of the Christian monks who lived in the third century, left his life of leisure to go to the desert. There he entered an abandoned tomb and was attacked by demons.[1] After a time he overcame them and as a result was able to entrust himself completely to the care of God. You may or may not believe in a literal devil, or have had such a dramatic experience as Anthony, but there is no doubt that there is such a thing as evil incarnate. And if one desires to follow Christ it is certain that one will be met with evil, on the one hand wreaking havoc in our lives, and on the other compelling us to take refuge and find solace and safety in God.
In the desert one also faces temptations. Sometimes it is temptation that leads us into the desert. While one might be prone to think of temptation in the corporeal sense, it is the temptations of the heart that cause the most harm. It is the deception of temporary earthly delight that leads us down a path of perdition. For Jesus in His temptation, it was not merely a matter of satisfying the wants of the flesh but assenting to the desire for power and control. Power and Control. In my opinion, the two most powerful driving forces in the lives of each person. Those twin towers of temptation lead us away from the humility that turns us away from trusting in ourselves or others to trusting in God.
And then there is adversity. What adversity have you face in your life? Perhaps it was caused by external events and causes beyond your control. There are unfortunate, unexpected, unanticipated, unwelcomed circumstances in life that suddenly assault us and turn our lives inside out and upside down. Far too frequently the cause of adversity is another person, or other people. That was the source of Jesus’ adversity. He was constantly confronted by those whose desire it was to cause Him trouble and derail Him from His purpose. His accusers were responsible for His crucifixion, but also for the ongoing challenges to His ministry and personhood as the Messiah. Jesus’ adversaries included some of those who were closest to Him; His own disciples forsook Him in His hour of greatest need, and He was betrayed by those whom He trusted most. That’s the type of adversity that really cuts deep, isn’t it? The kind that is caused by other people whom we consider our friends, our own family members, or maybe even our spouse, and turn out to be our adversaries.
For much of my life I have lived under the assumption that people, especially “Christian” people, should be nice—especially to me. What an illusion! Thomas a Kempis bursts that fallacious way of believing in the following:
Christ was despised my men in the world, and in His greatest need was forsaken by his acquaintances and friends, and left amid shame and rebuke. He was content to suffer wrongs and to be set at naught by the world, yet we desire that no one do us wrong or belittle our deeds. Christ had been adversaries and revilers, yet we would have all to be our friends and lovers. If you suffer no adversity (from others) how can you be a friend of Christ?
“Follow Me to the desert”, Jesus says. What desert has He led you into? And for what purpose? And what is the result?
[1]The image above is Dali’s depiction of St. Anthony’s temptation.