"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:15-17
This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 6:17. The whole "be ye separate" idea. It's a hard one to get our minds around sometimes, because we are here, and this is most of what we know. But as we learn more and remember more of God, and get in tune with his spirit, the more we realize that this isn't who we are. It is just a temporary learning environment. We're here to learn, and to be an example of Godliness. To help each become better, and encourage each other in finding a way to connect with God and return to him. I like the phrase "lust of the eyes" ... it's emotionally just as real as lust of the flesh, and I think that probably surface level these phrases represent uncontrolled sexual desire/obsession with the body, desire for power and/or wealth, and desire for popularity or celebrity. But "of the eyes" makes it seem unreal. Just something that we see and can't really touch. An illusion or mirage. And really, thinking in an eternal sense, all of it is. No matter how much we allow those things to control us or motivate us here, they are all fleeting, and those desires can only ever benefit us long term if we control them and use them only with God's boundaries and to forward his work. If we instead allow ourselves to become obsessed with lust of whatever type... with our bodies or our power or our popularity, we are only setting ourselves up for eventual disappointment. All of these things pass away. Only God and his purposes remain, and setting him at the core of our lives and goals is the only way to establish or build anything permanent.
Today, wherever we are, and whatever our obsessions, let's turn away from the illusory and temporary and towards God, the eternal. As soon as we're pointed in the right direction, God will assist us towards a more worthy goal. All we have to do is let go of the illusion, turn around, and ask for help.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:15-17
This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 6:17. The whole "be ye separate" idea. It's a hard one to get our minds around sometimes, because we are here, and this is most of what we know. But as we learn more and remember more of God, and get in tune with his spirit, the more we realize that this isn't who we are. It is just a temporary learning environment. We're here to learn, and to be an example of Godliness. To help each become better, and encourage each other in finding a way to connect with God and return to him. I like the phrase "lust of the eyes" ... it's emotionally just as real as lust of the flesh, and I think that probably surface level these phrases represent uncontrolled sexual desire/obsession with the body, desire for power and/or wealth, and desire for popularity or celebrity. But "of the eyes" makes it seem unreal. Just something that we see and can't really touch. An illusion or mirage. And really, thinking in an eternal sense, all of it is. No matter how much we allow those things to control us or motivate us here, they are all fleeting, and those desires can only ever benefit us long term if we control them and use them only with God's boundaries and to forward his work. If we instead allow ourselves to become obsessed with lust of whatever type... with our bodies or our power or our popularity, we are only setting ourselves up for eventual disappointment. All of these things pass away. Only God and his purposes remain, and setting him at the core of our lives and goals is the only way to establish or build anything permanent.
Today, wherever we are, and whatever our obsessions, let's turn away from the illusory and temporary and towards God, the eternal. As soon as we're pointed in the right direction, God will assist us towards a more worthy goal. All we have to do is let go of the illusion, turn around, and ask for help.
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