Today’s passage picks up in a continuous thread from yesterday when in her devotion Jen challenged us to remember that love unifies and marks us as Christ’s disciples. Our love becomes more selfless the more mature we become in Christ’s love, because we realize love is not an emotion…it is a CHOICE…a door into Kingdom righteousness and the revelation of genuine love. This world and what it offers will come to an end, so choosing eternal Kingdom riches is wisdom.
Think about how we learn at each stage of our lives and the wisdom we gain if we will bring those lessons forward. We can learn from our successes, as well as our failures in loving God, others, and ourselves; each one valuable if we will allow Christ to use them to help us grow in spiritual maturity. Love is our course of study; believers are disciples of LOVE and, if we are willing to follow Christ, we will continue to be lifelong students who grow and develop in Christlikeness.
Humanity’s greatest challenge will always be choosing to love God more than the world, because what the world offers to our flesh is what our flesh wants. We crave the fulfillment of physical desires and self-gratification. We hunger for tangible items to satisfy our materialistic nature. Our self-worth and attitude can be wrapped up in how others view us. These things are contrary to what the Holy Spirit desires for us. Therefore, our flesh fights with the Holy Spirit who was given by Christ to be our Helper.
Let’s remember Christ had very similar temptations when he was in the wilderness (Mat 4:1-11). The Spirit of the Lord was upon him and he was successful in defeating Satan’s temptations. You and I have the Spirit of the Lord, as well. So, we must pray for our attitudes, mindsets, appetites, and goals and ask the Lord to build them on the solid rock of pleasing God; not our wills but the will of the Father!
1 John 2:12-17 NLT
12
I am writing to you who are God’s children
because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
13
I am writing to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14
I have written to you who are God’s children
because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
and you have won your battle with the evil one.
Do Not Love This World
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for our lessons on love. Please help us make good choices, because each one leads us forward into our future. Help us as believers to learn from one another as we stand on your Word. Satan is a defeated foe, so Holy Spirit help us move beyond our cravings for the world’s corrupt and unrighteous way of living by growing mature as citizens of your eternal Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.