A MATTER OF CHOICE

"Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever." 1 John 2:15-17

There’s an old wise saying about being a proper Christian that states "we are in the world but not of the world." This saying goes a long way toward validating our scripture passage today as John draws a major distinction in lifestyle choices. Basically, you only have three choices and I will cover all three in the following paragraphs.

First, you can choose to live in the world…a world that has everything possible to entice someone to a place distant from God. In fact later in this book, John will say that "the whole world is under control of the evil one (aka Satan). (1 John 5:19) So by living in the world, you are living under the control of Satan and are destined to not only fail in pleasing the One who created you but lose your place in eternity with the Father at your journey’s end or when the world "fad (es) away along with everything it craves." And you would be part of the everything the world craves. Satan would enjoy nothing more than to see you perish. His sole purpose in life is to destroy everything that God has created. So choosing to live for the world is spiritually irresponsible and inexcusable to God.

Secondly, you can choose to live for both God and the world. If you were to place Christians in these three categories, this one would be the largest by far. For most Christians are too attached and enticed by the world to truly sell out for the Lord. Following God’s directives and the commands of His Son Jesus take them farther and farther away from the "fun" available in the world. John sums up the following items offered by the world: 1) lust for physical pleasure 2) lust for everything we see and 3) pride in our possessions. Falling prey to any of the three will lead you immediately to a place counter to God’s will for your life and certain trouble. Additionally, John tells us we "do not have the love of the Father" in us when we love the world. Believers should not underestimate the wrath that God can display when He is being disrespected and ignored. He has a way of getting people’s attention.

Finally, you can fulfill God’s will and expectation for you by being obedient to His word and way. There is an awesome pay off to remaining faithful and disciplined in your loyalty to the Father. John says, "You will live forever." Another famous passage, this one in the Gospel of John states this a little differently. You know it as John 3:16 and it states, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV).

So what will it be for you? Are you willing to sacrifice an eternal life with the Father by partnering with the sinfulness of the world and Satan who is in control of it? My prayer is that you will take this matter seriously as you read it because there is a lot at stake…namely, your salvation. One thing I can assure you. If you sell out for the Lord and devote every ounce of energy to serving Him in obedience and, in doing so, while helping countless others, your life will be end up blessed and you will not perish but have eternal life. The choice is up to you.

In Christ,

Mark

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