“Do Not Love the World”
Jesus calls for us to look beyond our limited world to grasp the fullness of life in light of God’s purposes, where His love, truth and justice reign.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 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. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 2:15-17
These words from John stop us short. We long to ascend the mountain of the Lord, yet we become distracted. Left to our own devices, our desires, our senses, our longing for wealth, fame, power or status, we risk losing sight of the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
But John’s words also hold a great secret.
As a child, physicist Michio Kaku observed carp floating beneath lily pads in a pond. He was struck by the fact that they lived in a two–dimensional space, unaware of the world above. Today Kaku studies multi-universes, existing in dimensions beyond our three-dimensional view.
Jesus, the incarnate one, the light-bearer, broke into the human dimension by becoming one of us. In so doing, He calls for us to look beyond our limited world to grasp the fullness of life in light of God’s purposes, where His love, truth and justice reign. He entrusts us with helping build a world where “moths and rust cannot destroy…For your heart will always be where your riches are” (Matthew 6:20,21).
In urging us to “not love the world,” John might have been recalling what Jesus told His disciples before His crucifixion and resurrection. “Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me” (John 15:15).
Do you grasp how much God loves you? Do you realize how wonderful and mysterious it is that He entrusts us with His world? In these days of distancing, confinement and reevaluation, let us reconnect with this high calling God makes available through His life in us. May we do what we can to advance that calling right where we are.
Prayer
Dear Father, bring your light into our hearts that we may see you, hear you, be true to you, and know what it means to honor your will and purposes in our lives.
