Do i Love This World Like God Loves me

Matt, one of my closest friends, made a statement the other day that initiated a train of thought for me that i'd like to share with you.  He said, "This world is designed to crush us [speaking of Christians]."  This of course was not anything i hadn't heard before and i'm sure you're very familiar with this truth as well.  Today, however, continued this vein of thought for me as our chapel speaker spoke about worldliness in the life of a believer (1Jn 2:15-17).
He made mention of the type of love that God has for each of us.  The type of love that is unconditional and everlasting no matter what.  That made me think of the passage that he dealt with in a completely different way: a perspective that i hadn't really considered before.
If you've been in church at all at some point in your life or watched the posters that fans have at televised football games, you're probably familiar with the verse John 3:16.  God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, the very best thing that He could offer.  He did this, not because He owed us something, but because of His unconditional, everlasting, no matter what kind of love.  The word used here for "love" (agape) is the same word used in 1John 2:15 for John's prohibition against loving the world.
The word for "world" is also the same in both verses, but the application is definitely different.  In John 3:16, John is talking about the inhabitants of the world.  God loved you and i and every other individual throughout the annals of time that He sent His Son to give His life for us.  However, in 1John 2:15 he is talking about the world system organized by Satan to draw us away from God.  This is the "world" that my friend Matt was talking about.  This system is designed by Satan to crush us as followers of Christ.
When the chapel speaker mentioned this passage it made me think, "How often do i love the world (the 1Jn. 2:15 world) like God loves us?"  How often do i sacrifice the very best i have for Satan's system?  How often do i give my unconditional, no matter what, no strings attached kind of love to a world that is designed to leave me empty, cost me everything, and ultimately destroy me?  No matter how often i suffer for my allegiance to this world, i'm willing to sacrifice my relationship with God in order to stay true to the world.  i know that in the end it will leave me wanting, yet i find myself always wanting more.  It seems at times that i'm hopelessly devoted to this world.  Identify?
One thing that i know and am confident of is that, though i may find myself loving this world far too often, God never stops loving me (Rom. 8:38-39).  His love bears all things, believes through all things, hopes in spite of all things, and endures through all things (1Cor. 13:7).  Though i may leave Him at home in order to pursue my illicit relationship with this world, He never leaves me.  i cannot let Him down, because i never was holding Him up to begin with (reference to "God's Chisel" by the Skit Guys).  i find that His love is slowly starting to consume me and i never want to go back again.  The world doesn't hold me anymore and it doesn't hold you if you are a follower of Christ.  Romans 6:7 tells us that those that are dead with Christ are freed from sin.
May God's love for us keep us from loving the world.  May we like Helen Lemmel find ourselves turning our eyes upon Jesus, looking full at His wonderful face, that the things of earth might grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.  Thanks for reading.

Whose Best Are You Striving to Be?

Something i've shared lately with some of my classes is that i struggle with acceptance of who i am. i constantly find myself comparing who i am with others and not measuring up to who they are. It's easy for me to become discouraged and to doubt God's plan in my life.

One of the students in our church recommended a video to me called "God's Chisel" by the Skit Guys. She had seen it at the Planet Wisdom conference this year and shared with me that it was very moving. As i watched it, i bawled, realizing that God had never been let down with who i was. i hadn't been holding Him up in the first place.

God's been reminding me lately that He doesn't produce junk. In fact, Psalm 139:14 tells us that God's work is marvelous and wonderfully complex. That includes you and i who bear the very image of God upon us. Each one of us is a unique creation with very specific role to play in God's kingdom.  He has a plan for us.  We have purpose.
The problem comes when we compare our role to that of someone else.  1 Corinthians 12:12-27 tells us specifically that each role that we play is important and that the body of Christ needs us to play OUR part and not the part of someone else.  God doesn't want another (insert name of someone you compare yourself to here), He wants one of YOU.  Otherwise, you wouldn't be here.
May you (and i) strive to be who our gracious God created you to be.  May you strive to be at your best.  Just don't compare your best to that of others.  Thanks for reading.

Our Gracious God

Wow! Looking at my blog, i can't believe it's been nearly two years since i've published something. i'm sure you know how it goes with the busyness that life brings.

Often when i lead in prayer during worship, i'll thank God for the breath that He gave us to return praise to His Name. This past Sunday as i reflected upon this, i thought about the fact that not only does God give us the breath to praise Him but He also gives us the breath to dishonor Him.

The very God Who, according to Paul in Acts 17, is the One in Whom we live and move and have our being, is the same God Who empowers us to do everything. The very energy He gives me to serve Him is the same energy He gives me to sin against Him. What a Gracious God that rules over all!

May you and i live each day remembering that it is a gift from God. May every breath that we take remind us of the One Who gave us that breath and may we always be amazed by His loving grace. Thanks for reading.