Remain.

I have a question. It has to be purely rhetorical, because no one can answer it until heaven. But do you think that Jesus, when the crowd yelled "If you're the Christ, make yourself come down!" was tempted to do just that?

Well, obviously yes, that would be tempting. In that amount of pain, resisting that temptation would have been almost impossible. Almost. But that's not really what I meant when I asked that question. This verse came up in a sermon, and I thought, "If someone said, do (x), so I know God is real," and it was in my power to do so, I would probably take them up on it, with the motive of showing them God.

Was Jesus tempted to come down so that they would believe? We won't know until heaven, I suppose, but if He was, what kept Him there?

I think it was His trust in His Father and His love for us. His knowledge of what was needed for redemption and His trust in His Father were bigger than His need to prove Himself to that crowd. Which is saying a lot, considering the humiliation He had been through.

How does that apply to me? When someone is taunting me to prove myself, do I stop to think if this is God's plan? Am I willing to appear as though I've lost the argument because I ultimately know that God's plans are bigger?

There is a story I heard once about a missionary who served in Haiti (if my memory serves me correctly). He had done good work in his village, had an impact on the people, but one day the village witch doctor came out to challenge him. Through the power of the demonic realm, this man was able to levitate off of the ground, putting all of the watching villages into a state again of fear. The witch doctor challenged the missionary, asking if his God could equal that power.

The missionary prayed quietly. "What do I do?" In his head, he envisioned a grand display, perhaps a flying demonstration with a few loop-de-loops thrown in! Instead, God whispered, "You just command them - 'drop him.' " And the witch doctor fell to the ground.

Sometimes the most effective way to show God's power is to be light in the dark places. Not to be a display but to be a presence  To be a mirror that reflects the heart of God's love. That is what Jesus did on that cross. He didn't put on a display, but He was the epitome of God's love for us. And ultimately that reconciled the entire world unto Himself, a much more powerful thing than if He had demonstrated His power to remove Himself from the cross.

As someone who has received that grace, and ought to every day be grateful beyond words for Him staying on the cross and enduring that pain, can I make those same decisions? To remain in the dark places, to swallow my desire to prove God through loop-de-loops, and to simply be His light, whether that be loud or quiet, by action or by simply remaining?

Sometimes remaining is harder than doing. Doing requires courage too, but I think I still have a harder time when God says, "Sarah, be still. Wait. Remain. Stop trying to do and just be." I'm not good at that. It links back to the whole identity thing in my last post.

In a situation of spiritual warfare, of brokenness and darkness, it is hard to just be and to let the love of Christ shine through you without running away or wanting to fix it your way with 'doing.' However, a candle doesn't need to do anything to combat the darkness; it just is. It exists. It allows its nature to come forth. This is what God calls us to do - allow our nature, the new nature He has given us of His love and His mercy, shine forth. And the darkness has no choice but to retreat.

Ephesians 6:13 - "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

John 15:4 "Remain in me and I will remain in you."