“My temptations have been my masters in divinity.”- Martin Luther
In Chapter 26 (“Growing Through Temptation”) of The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren states that on our path to spiritual maturity, even temptation may be a stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block. Temptation gives us the opportunity to do the right thing just as much as it gives us the opportunity to do the wrong thing.
When we do the right thing, we grow in the character of Christ, who is the perfect embodiment of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Rick then describes 2 characteristics of the fruits of the Spirit:
1. Just like the fruit we eat, the fruit of the Spirit always matures and ripens slowly.
2. In order for the fruit of the Spirit to develop in our lives, God allows us to “experience circumstances in which we’re tempted to express the exact opposite quality.” God teaches us love by putting some decidedly unlovely people around us. When we choose to trust God in situations where we’re tempted to be worried or afraid, we learn real peace. Patience is learned in circumstances in which we’re forced to wait, where we’re tempted us to express our anger or to demonsrate a short fuse.
Every time we defeat a temptation, we become more like Jesus!
Tomorrow’s blog: “Satan’s Predictability”
