Thursday May 28, 2020

1 John 2:12-17

12 I am writing to you, dear children,
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

13 I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children,
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God lives in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one.

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

What do we make the world? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Is the world good or bad? John makes reference to the world while addressing current disciples of Jesus. Jesus, in his own words, refers to the world in the same way when he prays for his disciples. “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (John 17:14-19).

God loves his creation is another way of saying God loves the world. He desires that every creature made in his image be saved. He has acted decisively in Christ to make that possible. God loves all of creation and will restore it in the end by making a new heaven and new earth. He will forever dwell with us. When John refers to the world, he is referring to it in the same way Jesus did in his prayer. While it can be used to refer to God’s good creation, the world is also plagued by sin and, therefore, in rebellion against God. The world is the domain of sin. Not as a result of God’s will but ours. John elaborates by saying lust and pride comes from the world. John isn’t discouraging us from loving our neighbors and caring for all creation. Quite the opposite. If we are to go on loving our neighbor and caring for creation, we must contend for the faith and battle the principalities and powers of darkness. He is saying whoever loves living in a house of sin doesn’t have love for the Father in them. If our desires stay fixed on our pride, lust, greed, etc., then we too will pass away with the world. We, children of God, are called to live for God’s Kingdom which will have no end. He has prepared a place for us. Let us allow God to sanctify us church! Purify our hearts Lord. Purify our hearts today.

Purify My Heart-Jeremy Riddle on YouTube

‘Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.
If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To welcome endless day?

Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that unto God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.
Come Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessed face to see;
For if Thy work on earth be sweet
What will thy glory be!

Then I shall end my sad complaints
And weary sinful days,
And join with the triumphant saints
That sing my Savior’s praise.
My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ‘tis enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.’