Jesus said (to skeptics), “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil” (John 7:7 KJV). And again, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). ‘The world’ Jesus spoke of has really done a number on us. And that’s the thing: there is so much good about the world. Notice, God created it and said it was ‘very good’ (Gen. 1:31). But that was before the snake had his way with Adam, with Eve, and the world. After this, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).
The world is still good but it also became the cosmos, an inhabited place full of crossroads that led to temptation, sin, pain, disease, hatred, and deception. It has a mind of its own that seeks to twist us from God. Without God we get all absorbed in our emptiness. But speed the day when we see our sin even through all our distractions. In that rare honest moment, may we realize our intense need for rescue from the sin, from evil, and the coming judgment at the ‘end of the world’, because this thing’s coming to an end.
And then maybe, just maybe we discover Jesus. For the first time, we know what to do. Faith from totally outside of us builds in us, and we call on his name. And we repent and tell ourselves the truth, and tell how bad we messed up, not just to God but to people, too. It’s awesome, the presence of Jesus in us. But . . . but . . . because of the sheer grip the world had on us to corrupt us, we are taught to fear it, shield ourselves from it, and just stay out it. But how do we do that? We still live here. So, well-meaning rules get invented, like, ‘Don’t smoke, drink, or chew, or go with girls that do.’ (I must be really getting old to write that). Look at the way of the world. The value systems of the world deceive us, enslave us, and cheapen us all. It’s a ghetto. It hated Jesus and crucified him. This is why we read in I John 2:15-16, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love 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 pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” However, the love of the Father sees the difference between being ‘in’ the world vs. ‘loving’ the world. God sees that all of us ‘walked according to the course of this world’ with its connection to ‘the prince of the power of the air’, operating in ‘lust’, and how we ‘were by nature the children of wrath’ (Eph. 2:2-3).
And yet he understands the unsolvable alienation of man to God. He gets it. His remedy is the Cross. So, though we are told, ‘Love not the world,’ maybe only God can do the following: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It’s only God’s love and the gift of his Son that makes faith possible, and therefore life eternal to the ‘whosoevers’ in the world. But he will judge the wickedness of the world and its people who refuse his love. Thus we are to love worldly people like he does. But only He enables that!
At any rate, if you are not a follower of Jesus I’m really glad you’re taking a moment to look at this issue, of being ‘in’ the world but not ‘of’ the world, which only He can do in you. Maybe you have never thought about this because it doesn’t hold relevance for you. But then again, you probably didn’t even notice it, but the reason you’re here is because something drew you. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but Someone is calling your name, imperceptibly, and so covertly, that you can’t overtly reason away these new fresh thoughts . . . of a Savior. If you’re stuck in a ghetto, one which you’ve conformed yourself to, the way of the world, God is calling you to get out of your ghetto. What? You say ‘That’s kind of harsh? Is the culture really that dark? Is it really time for a revolution?’ You and your darkness are rotting for lack of one. And you are just waiting for the light you ache for. This is God’s voice. So do this already: Ask, like you’ve never asked before, for mercy. Repent of your ways. Believe in the Love, and follow the Light while you still can. His name is Jesus. In the Name of all Mercies, Amen.
Tim Halverson
lionsheadcafe.com 