Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 / Romans 5:12-19 / Matthew 4:1-11
One of the important things in life that we take for granted is our health.
When we are in the pink of health, when there is no threat to our well-being, we will be like riding on the crest of the wave and feeling high and mighty.
We might become so arrogant and then we will think that to be healthy is a time to get wealthy.
But when we get afflicted by illness, or when our health is threatened by some kind of contagion, then things become reversed.
The way life was one month ago, and the way of life now is like steep downward ride on a roller coaster.
Humble items like handheld forehead thermometers, surgical masks and hand sanitizers were items that we hardly bothered about before. But now they become prized items and fetch ridiculous prices.
The whole world is like on a lockdown as the COVID-19 virus makes its appearance outside of Asia.
Where once mankind was like the master and put
animals into cages, now it is a tiny virus that has put mankind into his self-made cages.
Where once mankind used health to gain wealth, now mankind uses wealth to gain health, and try to protect it.
As we enter into the first Sunday of Lent, we hear of Jesus being led by the Spirit out into the wilderness when He fasted for 40 days.
The wilderness is a harsh place where life is stripped down to almost nothing. There is no security or guarantee, no protection or assurance.
The wilderness, or the desert, and the number 40 has this biblical meaning of trial and testing.
But it also has the meaning of cleansing, purification and enlightenment.
In the book of Exodus, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years for them to learn that God is their Provider and Saviour, even though they failed in their faith in God time and again.
Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness where God was His only security and protection and after which he had to face the devil’s temptations.
But Jesus overcame the devil. Physically drained but spiritually strengthened, He rebutted and rebuked the devil.
As we wonder what the next 40 days hold for us and for the world, let us follow Jesus into the wilderness and let us also embark on the three spiritual disciplines of Lent, that is, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Let these 40 days be a time of cleansing, purification and enlightenment, so that we can be spiritually healthy and strengthened in faith to meet the challenges and the temptations in life.
Let us be spiritually disciplined in these forty days and God will send His angels to look after us.