THE ENCOUNTER IN THE WILDERNESS

THE ENCOUNTER IN THE WILDERNESS
(A Short Story)

An Indecent Proposal:
In the eye-squinting and almost blinding sun of the desert, he saw what looked like and shaped like a loaf of bread. In the faint light of the cold and quiet Judean night, the object really looked like bread. Was it? The Hungry Man (HM for brevity) in our story was well aware what it was but there was something else he was acutely aware of: the undeniable and attention-grabbing hunger, a result of many days and nights of intentionally avoiding food.

Hunger spares no one and it is characterized by a bodily sensation that changes its call from urgent to very urgent. Naturally, the simple answer to hunger is food, assuming that food is available and within reach. It was not so at this time. There was no plant from which grains may be plucked off. There was no house in the vicinity whose owner can be requested, even compelled to provide food. There was no store from which to buy food of any kind. Hunger is a simple issue and never complicated when food is available and accessible. It was not so at this time. But, there is that nagging object a few meters away. It does look like bread. Any observer would know that it was not bread but its presence may be a sign that it can and must be turned into bread. Is it possible?

The silence of the meditative mind was interrupted, rather rudely, in fact, by the arrival of a visitor whose presence is always a portent of difficult events and bad news. The visitor is not a stranger and he is known to be preoccupied with two ambitions: control and gain. Anyone that can be controlled becomes his slave and the one that cannot be controlled becomes his enemy. And if he cannot win over his enemy, he tries the most surreptitious approach implemented in a very cunning manner in order to steal from, kill and destroy the enemy he cannot hope to defeat. That day, in the soul-gripping silence typical of a wilderness, the visitor appeared again- to steal, to kill and destroy. It was a strange sight: the visitor confronting a person whose assistant defeated this same visitor long time ago in a far, distant part of the universe. Oh yes, HM knows this visitor quite well. Actually, they knew each other quite well.

Using his usual suave and disarming linguistic skills, the visitor says: “turn this stone into bread.” No long preliminaries were necessary because both HM and the visitor knew that hunger had become an undeniable reality and that no food was within a reachable distance. HM was hungry and there was this bread-shaped stone which requires nothing but a word or a command and it would gladly transform itself into the best-tasting bread one can ever bite into in this world.

But look, HM not only knows this visitor quite well in terms of dossier. He also knows that this visitor is called THE TEMPTER, the one who invites people to sin or invites people to take a step beyond the limits God has set for His people. The visitor pointed out a problem that HM was already aware of. The assumption is that a hungry man would naturally want food and will want to get it ASAP. Assuming that HM believes in what everyone else believes – that man lives by having bread or food, the visitor tells the HM: “turn this stone into bread.” This has always been the visitor’s method and in his past dealings with many others, he was successful in selling his ideas to the hungry person and the visitor’s will was forced on the hungry person’s life. Not this time.

HM’s answer was succinct, beyond debate and an answer that every child of God must learn to keep in his heart, confess with his mouth and uphold in his mind with utmost firmness: “Man does not live by bread alone”. It was not a disparaging view of bread for man does need bread or food to live in this world. There was no argument about the need for bread but it was wrong to equate life with food. There is something very important, in fact, far more important in a man’s life: “Every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” The visitor was using a classic and time-tested formula for causing human beings to fight God: Don’t wait for God to solve your problems. Solve it yourself. Do it your way. Patience is not a virtue when one is hungry. Turn this stone into bread. HM used a time-tested and time-honored principle called HIERARCHY OF IMPORTANCE: Man needs bread, yes but he also needs every word that comes out of the mouth of God. It is a way of saying: I’ll do it if the word of God approves of it or does not frown on it. HM’s answer can be summarized this way: VALUE THE WORD OF GOD!

The visitor was frustrated but he was not about to give up. He has two more proposals to make. He was familiar with the adage that says: If at first try you don’t succeed, try again and again. So he tried again.

An Invitation To Prove God’s Care And Kindness.
The visitor presented his second proposal and it had a tinge of spirituality to it: “throw yourself down.” They were perched on the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem (how they got there remains a mystery) and both HM and the visitor can see clearly the very busy streets of Jerusalem with people going to and fro to pursue their business for the day. Jumping from that height (about 60 feet high) would means sure death. But, the visitor says: “throw yourself down.” He gives an added encouragement: “The angels will come and catch you with their hands so that you remain safe.”

HM was fully aware of what the visitor was trying to do. He was inviting Him to try the goodness and care of God by doing an act that is both foolish and sinful. Jumping off the building was suicide and does not find justification anywhere in the Word of God. Both HM and the visitor were familiar with the Old Testament. Both were aware that suicide is a form of murder and something that the Law prohibits. Both were aware that the phrase TESTING GOD is used in the Old Testament in two ways: Test God’s goodness by obeying Him fully (Malachi) or testing God by disobeying Him (Israelite travel from Egypt to the Promised Land).

HM’s answer was a forgone conclusion: We cannot and should put the Lord our God to the test. Yes the angels will come and help but not by way of disobedience. Yes I the Son of God but I do not have to prove that by death through suicide (another form of death would be required later). HM’s answer was very clear: VALUE THE HONOR OF GOD. Don’t put Him to the test. The visitor was becoming increasingly frustrated but he cannot and would not easily give up. One more try and maybe this one will work.

An Invitation To Change Identity:
Finally, the last proposal was simplistic in its presentation but with implications that defy human analysis and valuation: The visitor asked HM to worship him. In return the visitor will put the wealth of the world in the hands of the HM. HM was perceptive enough to know that the issue was not wealth and never will be. The issue was worship. We are to worship God alone. This the most non-negotiable item in man’s spiritual library: Worship God and serve Him only.

There was no arguing about who owns the wealth of the world. That was not the issue. There was no arguing about who can grant power or withdraw power in this world. That was not the issue. The main issue was WORSHIP. We worship God alone and serve Him only. What was the main principle involved here?

It’s called the PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL IDENTITY. A child of God has an unchangeable and non-negotiable identity: WORSHIPER OF GOD. The visitor attempted everything but the main issue he was raising, the main proposal he was presenting was simply this: CHANGE YOUR SPIRITUAL IDENTITY, to which HM answered back in no uncertain terms: NO WAY. HM was upholding a very important spiritual principle and task: VALUE GOD’S MAJESTY.

CONCLUSION:
In summary, the encounter in the wilderness between the HUNGRY MAN and the VISITOR went like this: Visitor: You are hungry and the answer is food. Here is a stone that can be turned into bread. So, turn this into bread. HM: In everything consider first the WORD OF GOD. PRINCIPLE: VALUE THE WORD OF GOD.

Visitor: You are assured of God’s care for you. Put it to the test by jumping off this temple. Anyway the angels will rescue you. HM: God will be dishonored by an attempt to commit suicide. I won’t put God’s honor to the test. PRINCIPLE: VALUE THE HONOR OF GOD.

Visitor: You are in this world. I have control of the wealth and power of the world. So, change your identity. Worship me and I’ll give you all these. HM: Worship God and serve Him only. That is non-negotiable. PRINCIPLE: VALUE GOD’S MAJESTY.

NOTE: This is not a work of fiction. The story is found in Matthew 4:1-11. By the way, what is your track record in the times the visitor presented his proposals to you?