14 But each person is tempted when he is lured (carried away) and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. (James 1:14-16 ESV)
In our scripture today various translations use “lured” and some use “carried away”. I think of temptation in the latter, as the enemy’s desire is to carry us away from God.
Sin, as we know, is a separation from God. When we sin, God cannot be a part of it. So when we do so we are the furthest from God and, afterward, must find our way back. The enemy can lure us so far away from God that we may find it very difficult to return. We may start to believe his lies that God would never take us back.
But this is not our loving Father.
Our loving Father waits patiently on us, nudging our hearts to return to Him. He will not force us to, but so too, He will not remain distant. He will work into our lives avenues for us to return to Him like the prodigal son. And like that favored son, there will be rejoicing when we return.
We must fight to not allow ourselves to be carried away. We must begin before the temptation begins to formulate our thoughts and plans to stay far away. We must use the full armor of God to combat the enemy’s plans. We must fight the fight to keep from being carried away.
