If!! If!

Thursday March 17^th, Matthew 4:  1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."  4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"   If!!  If!! And the devil says, let me set the stage and conversation to my terms!!  If!!  Think of how the people would love you if you were to do such a simple thing as feeding them always with good sweet things.  In the far reaches of their minds there would be a spark of remembrance of when they were in the garden, before the tree, before the influx of reason, and all there was, was simple and filled with eating and sleeping and playing.  You could return them to that moment and let them play again at being happy, and you too could play at being God.  The down side is that all would fall so much easier under the control of those who destroy community while creating empire, might and wealth.  It would be a win, win ………..LOSE.  Humanity was not created to be stopped on the path of learning to live in the image of God, like a river damned, not moving and stagnant around the edges in the heat of the day.  We were meant to grow in the knowledge and love of God and yes, to struggle along the way with what it means to be created in the image of God.  To struggle with what it means for hunger to exist in a world of plenty and to share that struggle with one another.