The crucial difference between Jesus and the Devil, and what it means for your mind

If I asked you to, in one word, describe what the Devil does, what would you say? Most people (at least the ones I asked) would say "the tempter" or "the tormentor" or something like that. And those answers are accurate.

Photo courtesy of Willaim Brawley at Flickr.com

There is, however, another distinct title that bares more weight, especially to Christians. And you need to know about it.

Obviously there are lots of differences between Jesus and Satan. And while the two aren't polar opposites (because Jesus is the all-powerful Son of God and Satan is... well, nobody by comparison), they're separated by a litany of differences in personage. However, there's one difference that has rocked my world, and I hope will rock yours today.

You could boil Satan's character down to a few one word job descriptions, but the one that matters for you right now is this - he's the accuser. And Revelation 12:10 just flat out says it:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God, day and night, has been hurled down." Revelation 12:10 (ESV)

Imagine the devil standing before God, day and night, pointing out your mistakes and pleading with Him to punish you for your horrible horrible sins. You sinner you. 

Then there's Jesus

Jesus, on the other hand, sits at the right hand of God saying something like this, "Yeah, he's right. What they did was pretty bad, and painful. If anyone knows, I do. But they're mine, and their debts are paid in full - no matter what" (Luke 12:7-8). If Satan is the accuser, Jesus is our total salvation (which I realize is more than one word). 

So when you find yourself sitting there, thinking about what a screw up you are, know that that voice only comes from one person - the accuser, who wants to bury you with shame. But there's another voice rattling around up there in your head. If you've been listening to the voice of the accuser for a long time, then the voice of Jesus will be harder to hear, but it's up there. It's the voice that's calmly repeating, "I love you. I forgive you. You mean the world to me."

I tend to listen to the accuser's voice too much, which means it takes effort to hear what Jesus is telling me. But what about you? Who's voice do you hear? and how do you go about listening to Jesus' voice?