The Bible contrasts two ways of living. 1 John verse 15 to 17: {Message Bible};

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love the world squeezes out love for The Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world — wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important–has nothing to do with The Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world is  all it’s wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out–but whoever does what God wants is set for  eternity”.

Here the Apostle john gives us two contrast. Christians daily have to choose between loving the world and loving The Father. We can call God “Abba Father’ which really means daddy, which means we have intimacy with The Father. What the world has to offer is nothing by comparison.

The world is a trap of deadly addictions, but Our Lord and Our Friend draws us with cords of love into a relationship, in which we are conveyed by the power of the Love, The Father has for us.

Faced with difficulty, most of us tend to choose convenience and expediency over sacrifice and integrity, particularly when the personal costs are likely to be high, and as believers we may make choices that don’t contrast the forgiveness, acceptance and assurance in the new life Our Lord and Our Friend has freely given us. But the contrast in our lives should be rooted in Christ likeness values of love, truth and humility rather than expedience, popularity and selfishness.

Contrasts means: to compare by showing difference, so this really involves making choices for ourselves, that reflect the assurance we recieve through The Power of The Cross in the Gospel message.

For God so Love the world that He gave, His only begotten Son”. {John 3 verse 16}. In contrast what does the world have to offer. We are here for an eternal reason, not just the pleasures of a season.

God Bless.

O F J.