Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves 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 boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

The scriptures teach us that we are temporarily located in a body which is located temporarily in a temporary world, so, its not too surprising we are powerfully conditioned by temporariness. This is a real problem since, created in His (eternal) image, we are anything but temporary. The apostle John, an intimate friend to Jesus, knew it was in man to give his affections either to the temporal or the eternal. His Master had taught Him that men are either going to love one or the other and that “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him.

Religion recognizes worldliness and addresses it by way of laws. “Thou shalt” and “thou shalt not” are the spirit of all systems of religiosity. Consequently its portrayal of the fear of God is centered on what may happen to them if they run afoul of these laws. Contrastingly, those who are resting in Christ’s righteousness are also in this world, but they recognize the futility of religion in dealing with it. They are focused on a promise: “And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23)

So how are we to live out our lives as eternal spirits in a temporal world, one that is passing away before our very eyes?  All of scripture speaks to this in one way or another but John gives us a keen insight with 1 John 2:29: “Little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

The scripture tells us that Satan has some authority in this temporary world, which he wields through deception. By leveraging the temporal, as if it were all there was, the prince of this (temporary) age, reigns over a network of ideas, which are designed to distract us from the eternal. But… “The anointing (gift of the Spirit) which you received from Him abides in you…. His anointing teaches you about all (these) things” (1 John 2:27). And in verse 17, John tells us if we will do the will of God, we will abide forever. (parentheses mine)

We will succeed in “not loving the world” best by not turning this apostolic command into a law. We will succeed best in loving God by simply abiding in His promises and abiding in intimate fellowship with Him.

 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)

Father, may we hear and respond to the anointing of Your Holy Spirit within us, Who is helping us renew our minds where we have been conditioned and conformed to the temporal. Holy Spirit, please teach us to reinvest our affections in You. When Jesus appears once again may our abiding have been highly visible. Amen.

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