The Lord's Prayer is supposed to be simple. There are lots of complex essays on it. I don't believe Jesus would say something so cryptic that only very learned people who can read and understand complex essays could discern his meaning. He wanted to be understood.
Lead us not into temptation.
This obviously does not mean: God would otherwise actively induce us to sin, but, if we ask nicely, we will be excused.
There is an obvious reading, here:
- I'm asking God to lead me.
- Where?
- Not the path I'm tempted to go down (self-will)
- But the path God wants me to go down (God's will).
Why this focus on temptation?
The state in which I need to prayer is the state of self-will.
In this state, I see the path I'm tempted to go down.
This might be mental.
Or it might be material.
I'm therefore praying to God to be led away from temptation (self-will) towards God's will.
In thought.
And in action.
Comments
Post a Comment