The World Passes Away

View daily reading plan: 1 John 2.15-17

Believers who have matured spiritually can still be allured by the enchantments of the world, by its  philosophies, trends, and activities. Satan is its “prince” (Jn 16.11), and unwittingly men of the world are manipulated by him; “the whole world lieth in the evil one” (1 Jn 5.19, RV). It is all anti- God and yet dressed up in such a way as to make it magnetic, and hence John’s solemn warning, “Love not the world”.

Family members cannot love both their Father and the world at the same time (v.15) and John specifies three features of the world system that can cripple the believer. Items one and three seem to revolve around item two. The lust of the eyes stokes the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes incites the desire for ostentatious living, “the ostentation of the life” (YLT).
 
In His teaching, the Lord Jesus linked looking and lusting (Mt 5.28); hence the need to avoid suggestive and provocative reading material, videos, or internet sites. Advertisers know the value of promoting their products through the eye, and their “must-have” items are presented in a way which appeals to the “pride of life”.

“And the world passeth away” (v.17). When the world system is finally laid to rest, a body of people will still be in the enjoyment of things that are lasting and eternal. Do we love the world or do we do the will of God? For which world are we living?

Thursday, 2 May, 2024