The Beloved Disciple's First Letter - Pt 7

 

Do not love the world or 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 desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17 ESV).

 

Route 66, also known as U.S. Highway 66 or the “Mother Road,” winds across a twenty-four hundred plus mile-long swath of America from Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 passes through eight states and more than three hundred communities. There are many sites along Route 66 that are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and over 5.5 million people live along the route. Route 66 once provided a vital transportation corridor connecting the Midwest with southern California after it was established in 1926. It includes a cross section of urban areas, panoramic scenery, Native American communities, small rural towns, and, of course, quirky roadside architecture to comprise a “living, evolving thoroughfare of American discovery.” Over the years, Route 66 came to symbolize freedom and mobility. Following World War II, it epitomized the new optimism that pervaded the nation’s postwar eco-nomic recovery. While Route 66 was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985, it has continued to be a nationally and internationally popular heritage tourism destination, providing an appealing alternative to Interstate highway travel for recreational motorists seeking an authentic American experience. However, it is not near what it once was. Some sections are impassable and in ruin.

 

It is another example of how people matter more than stuff - the things, the trinkets, of this world simply do not last. It is only God who matters more than everything else and anything else. Jesus commanded us to love God and love our neighbors and not crave the stuff of the world. The love of worldly things crowds out our love for God and leads us to neglect the people we love.

 

In our verses today, John echoes Jesus' teaching in telling us that we must not love this world and its stuff! This command seems contradictory to John 3:16 - that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to save us. In this statement, John is emphasizing that God loves the lost people in the world and wants to save them. In our verses today, however, John is teaching against loving the stuff in this world. Rather, we are to do what pleases God, and that means loving God and the people around us.

Notice how the Holy Spirit identifies the world's things we must not love: the craving for physical pleasure; the craving for everything we can see; the pride in our human achievements and possessions along with the status they bring us. John wants us to know that these false loves ruin our lives, destroy our relationships, and lead us away from God. They come from the fallen world that is opposed to God, and its works are evil because it is under the power of Satan. This is the world that hates followers of Jesus.

 

I can imagine you are asking, “So, Don, what's the point?” Well, let me be very clear to help us see how this principle applies to relationships! If we love God and follow Jesus with all our heart, the Holy Spirit pours God's love into us so we can love each other fully, correctly, and sacrificially. But if what we love means satisfying the cravings of our worldly nature, we will destroy our relationship with God and ruin our relationships with other people. We love God, then we love each other. When we build our relationships on these two loves and not the cravings of the world, Jesus promised that God would give us all the other things we need as His added blessings. The world is going to pass away, but those of us who love God will enjoy God's love, forever!