I have been pondering on 1 John 2:15 this morning. Thinking about the state of the world. All the pain, the suffering, the sin, and evil we are subjected to on a daily basis. I think to myself, Thank God Jesus saved us when He did, I don’t know how I would have been able to rationalize the pandemic and the mess of violent protests plaguing our country and world at large. Through the lens of the Bible I see the truth in the words “the world is passing away.” I understand now there is no reason to build a house on a sinking ship. If I were to set my hope on the world and not on Jesus Christ our Lord, I would only be asking for heartache and misery in the end.
The lusts of the world are also passing away, Hallelujah for that! Even before I was saved, I would often be so off-put by the blatant and celebrated sensuality of our youth. I couldn’t make sense of it at the time, but now I see it for what it is. I thank God daily that I no longer share the desires of the world. They will only pass away.
I know that only through doing the will of the Father I will live forever. Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments. He also said that He didn’t come to abolish the law of Moses but to fulfill it. By following the laws of Moses, I know I am showing Jesus the love that He deserves. This isn’t legalism, it’s not like I am trying to earn God’s love. No, I know He loves me and I want to show Him how much I love Him back by keeping His commandments to the very best of my ability. It is through these commandments that I see God’s Holiness and through the power of the Holy Spirit I can and will strive to keep them on a daily basis out of the love and fear of our Father in heaven. The spirit of rebellion that once inhabited my vessel has been replaced by a spirit of obedience and I couldn’t feel more free! No longer am I a slave to my flesh and the world, but I am a willful servant to the Almighty God who through His bountiful Grace opened my spiritual eyes and set my soul free!
It is empty talk to say you love God but do not love what He loves. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. If you love the world, you will perish with the world, but if you don’t love the world and instead love God, you will do His will and live with Him forever. This short life on earth isn’t anything but a blip in comparison to the eternity we will experience once our souls leave our physical vessels.
(1 John 2:15)
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
