Desire

1 John 2:15-16—Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.

What exactly are these things of the world that we ought not to love?  Probably money, status, and things like fancy houses, fast cars, and name-brand clothes—among other things, of course.  Particularly in in our Western culture, we can easily get caught up in an intense ethic of consumerism—it’s almost like a virus that plagues us.  We see an advertisement, or walk into a store, and suddenly we “need” something new.  Compared to so many others around the world, Westerners have an overabundance of things, yet so many of us are not satisfied with what we have.  The thing is, all of these worldly riches are fleeting.  If we bank our happiness on the car we drive or the house where we live, those things can easily be destroyed.  Acquiring something new might give an initial rush of pleasure, but in the end the newness wears off and we are left with a bigger emptiness that needs to be filled with a bigger thing.  Relationship with God works in just the opposite way, though.  Once He enters our hearts, He never leaves us feeling empty.  Certainly as we grow in our faith, we discover parts of our hearts and souls that we never knew existed, but Christ fills those newly discovered spaces without ever vacating and leaving empty any place He has already been.  When we begin to know the love of God, it’s like our eyes cannot even see the things of this world anymore.  Our perspective shifts, our vision changes, and we are left seeing the only thing that really matters—God our Father.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for filling you up with His Love.  Seek those undiscovered spaces in your soul, in your heart, and ask God into those places to fill you even more with His love.  Ask God to take away any distractions of this world so that you might know true peace in the love of Christ.  Pray that your relationships with others would honor God and continually grow His love in you and through you.