There are two voices that vie for our attention. The voice of our culture and of our misguided intuition tells us that we must prove ourselves. We are told that we must succeed and that only when we impress people do we have the right to feel good about ourselves. This voice drives us like a tyrant with a whip to work harder at pleasing others, even at being the envy of others. We feel that we must rise up; get attention; get the admiration of people. We want to be accepted by people to feel acceptable. We have within us a great painful void. It is an identity vacuum. The tragic irony is that we who were created to be the most significant of all the creatures, should struggle to overcome a sense of insignificance. When we got separated from God we lost our reflection in the mirror of his love and saw a void that needed to be painted over with achievements and human approval. But there is another voice, the voice of God, that says to us: “You are my child whom I love” (3:22). If only we would listen to this voice more, then the other voice would lose its authority and influence over us. The other voice gets our attention far too much and puts our life into such a spin. We need to listen more to God. Give yourself time regularly to focus on his love, to worship, pray and meditate on his word. Listen to his voice. It is the voice of truth and the truth will set you free.
Reflect on God’s love for you.
Read Luke 4:1-13
