And how did He teach His followers to face them?
The retreat has entered its eleventh day, and you may have a question in your mind: Why haven’t we begun to explore the core theme of the retreat, “Finding Hope in God’s Kingdom”?
Before we enter this important theme, we need to clear away all obstacles that prevent us from embracing it, and adjusting our mindset is the first priority. With the right perspective and understanding, we can see the path ahead more clearly. This has been the focus of our retreat over the past ten days. Now, we should have a clearer vision of what this earthly journey is all about.
Where there is a path, there will naturally be forks in the road, requiring us to make choices. Unfortunately, because God has given humanity unconditional love and complete freedom of choice, this has also given the devil an opportunity to exploit. The devil uses lies and sweet words to disrupt our relationship with God. It also targets human weaknesses, creates wrong paths in our lives, tempting and inciting us to make wrong choices and go astray.
These wrong paths often appear to be broad avenues, filled with many irresistible temptations along the way, aiming to capture our hearts and lead us into its trap.
We must not forget the warning given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verses 13 to 14, in His Sermon on the Mount:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Jesus knew well the schemes of the devil. After His baptism, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days and forty nights. The devil took advantage of Jesus’ hunger and targeted Jesus’ weakest point at the time. It began to tempt Jesus by starting with physical comfort and pleasure. When that failed, the devil attempted to lure Jesus into submission by offering worldly power and material control, but Jesus was unmoved. Finally, the devil used the greatest weakness of human nature, pride, to tempt Jesus into testing God. But Jesus firmly rebuked the devil, saying: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Luke 4:12)
After all of the devil’s schemes were exposed and Jesus firmly rejected its temptations, the devil left Him. However, in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verse 13, it clearly states:
“When the devil had finished every test, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13)
If the devil did not even spare Jesus, then it certainly will not spare us easily. In fact, the devil will carefully plan and wait for the right moment to strike again.
This helps us better understand why Jesus sternly reminded His followers: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.” (Matthew 7:13) Our enemy knows our weakness, which is the desire to complete life’s journey in the most comfortable and easy way.
That is why the enemy will open up crooked paths that appear to be smooth paths in our earthly pilgrimage, leading us to fall into its trap, ultimately preventing us from reaching the final destination of life and obtaining eternal life.
Reflection
In your daily life, do you tend to choose the easier path? When making life decisions, do you consider comfort and pleasure as your primary considerations?
Are you vigilant about the traps the devil sets in your life, or do you tend not to think much about them and remain unguarded?
After today’s reflection, will you be more aware of your choices in life, especially the tendency to choose the wider and smoother paths? How do you prevent yourself from falling into the enemy’s trap?
Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for guiding me through the Holy Spirit today, allowing me to further reflect on the direction of my life, especially the criteria I use to make choices in life.
You have made me realize that I should not underestimate the various temptations in life. Even something as simple as physical comfort and pleasure can become major stumbling blocks in my journey to holiness.
Please help me not to focus solely on my own benefits in life, nor be blinded by the temporary power and desires of this world, weakening my determination to choose You. I want to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, firmly rejecting all of the devil’s temptations and steadfastly choosing the path of Your truth at the crossroads of life!
You are invited to visit the YouTube channel, where all participants are encouraged to join and share their reflections.
Fundraising Appeal
Thank you for participating in this 40-day Lenten spiritual journey. We hope you have been inspired and have benefitted from it! For the spiritual benefit of all of you, Fountain of Love and Life devotes a lot of time and effort in producing various spiritual projects every year, and all our ministries are sustained by the generous donations of our supporters. We hope you will support us with prayers and donations. Please make an online donation using the button at the top of the website Lent.FLL.cc. Thank you very much for your support. God bless!
Please kindly pray for them. May God protect them and sustain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Writer: Paul Yeung
Project Manager: Michael Lam, Rosa Tse
Editors: Bonny Chan, Rosa Tse
English Editors: Bonny Chan, Paul Yeung
Mandarin Editor: Anthony X.
Cantonese Narrator: Margaret Woo
English Narrator: J. Johnson
Mandarin Narrator: C. Zhou
Audio Editors: Cyan Cheung, Sander Lee, Margaret Woo
YouTube Editors: Arnold Chan, Cyan Cheung, Sander Lee
Graphics: Francis Lai, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Website: Patricia Young, Angela Wong
Podcast: Angela Wong
Social Media: Yollie Leung, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Theme Music:
“3 MINUTES RELAXATION MUSIC | 4K Scenic View of Tuscany” by Introvert Pianist https://www.youtube.com/@introvertpianist
“Sea of Memory” by Aakash Gandhi https://www.youtube.com/@88keystoeuphoria