A Son of God

Imagine Moses on a tall mountain, a staff in his hand and the wind whipping his robes around him. Heavenly Father appears and faces Moses. “Behold,” he begins, “I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name” (Moses 1:3).

Think of that. Think of Moses, a shepherd, standing before God, feeling his all-encompassing presence, witnessing his unsurpassed glory, and hearing him declare himself as “Almighty” and “Endless.” Almighty: He has all power--unsurpassed strength and capability. Endless: His being, his knowledge, his capacity, his love--he is without end in every way.

And then think of God--the ruler of the universe--saying to Moses what he said next: “And, behold, thou art my son” (Moses 1:4).

Wow. The son of God. Not just an old shepherd, but the offspring of the creator of all things. The child of the heavenly King. The heir of boundless dominions. What a humbling and yet exalting moment that must have been for Moses. To think that this amazing being with such incredible power was Moses’ Father. To think that Moses, an imperfect human, had the capacity to develop into a divine king like his Father.

Were God to appear to each one of us, he would likely say the same thing: “I am God, and you are my child.” And the same truths would apply: we are loved by the most awesome being in the universe, and we have the potential to be like him. We--each of us human beings on this earth--are amazing creatures. We are princes and princesses, children of an all-powerful King. What powerful knowledge that is.

After God had finished talking to Moses in the mountain, he left and Moses fell to the earth. He lacked strength to even stand, and he realized the extent of God’s power and glory when it was gone from him. And then someone else visited Moses. God’s polar opposite, Satan, appeared on the scene.

“Moses, son of man,” said Satan, “worship me” (Moses 1:12).

Son of man? Satan called Moses a son of man? But God just told Moses he was God’s son. When Satan visited Moses, he knew the power of the knowledge God had just given him, and he didn’t want Moses to have that power. So he told Moses he was the son of man. It was as if he were saying, “Moses, don’t listen to that rubbish. You cannot be a son of God. Look at yourself. You’re weak. You’re small. You are nothing. You’re a shepherd, for heaven’s sake! Son of God? Ha! You can’t even stand up.”

Does Satan ever say that to you? Does he ever whisper in your ears that you are not important? Does he tell you that you are not like God? When you hear those subtle messages creeping into your heart and mind, when you feel you are unworthy of God’s love, when you think you cannot do what God has asked you to do, remember: Satan is a liar. And he is telling you these lies because he wants to destroy you.

Like Moses, when we are faced with such devilish messages, we need to stand tall and boldly declare, “Who art thou? For behold, I am a son [or daughter] of God” (Moses 1:13). And like Moses, we need to call on the Son of God for strength (Moses 1:21). For he will help us. For he is our brother, and he has conquered Satan before and he will do it again--every time we ask him to.