Why Does the World Pull Us In?
Movies and moments within movies can be inspiring. Luke Skywalker declaring he will forever be a Jedi, Rocky yelling, “Yo, Adrian,” or learning that life is like a box of chocolates are all examples of this, and the message is clear: never forget who you are and don’t settle for less.
Now, movies have a knack for the dramatics, making it pretty easy to see what’s good and evil, but our lives are rarely that clear-cut. There’s a lot more subtlety in real life.
The world around us is always trying to get us to accept a false version of who we should be (Saul’s armor). This isn’t just true for Christians; it’s true for everyone. But for Christians, Satan will attempt to paint the picture of a weaker version of who we actually are in Christ.
It’s not that he’s trying to turn us to the dark side, because that would be easy to spot. He’s trying to get us to give up the high calling of who we are in Christ. He wants us to settle for less, to play small, to forget, or to stay caught up in fear and apathy, to get entangled in the issues and rabbit trails of the world around, and to live and act like everyone else.
We Need to Remember
This is exactly what was happening in the churches John was writing to, and this is what happens to us.
1 John 2
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
In our Bibles, these words look different than the ones around them – like a song or poem. Think about any romantic movie, when you really want to win that other person over or drive the point home, you write a song or a poem.
John starts by telling us to remember. Remember who we are, what we’ve seen. Remember what God has already done and do not settle for less. Then, he sets up the contrast.
1 John 2
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father (the Father’s love) is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
This is why all of us live up to our calling. We don’t want to live below it, but why do we? There’s something that the world and its way of living offer us that seems incredibly appealing. It pulls us in.
Fire can be very good when lit in the right places. In the wrong place, it threatens to burn down an entire house. It takes over.
How do you get attached to something like this? You keep it in front of you, meditate on it, create and cultivate a space in your life that you believe it is supposed to fill.
When you feed your desires, they don’t go away, they grow.
Now, this sounds almost religious, like worship.
1 John 2
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
John is talking cryptically here. He’s setting up a standard of comparison – Christ vs. antichrist. When some of us hear that word, it brings to mind the end of times or an apocalypse. But the meaning is simpler, and far more mundane. It means "in place of" or "counter to" Christ. John says that there are a lot of them, not just one. And that’s true.
There are many other places and things we can worship, where we think we put them next to Christ, but they always take the place of Christ. It starts out subtle, but when given the driver’s seat, it will have us embracing a way of living that seeks to substitute all sorts of other things for Jesus as our Savior and our Lord.
We are all wired for worship, it’s just a matter of what, where, who, and when.
The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life never satisfy or even last. We’re always going to be on the hunt for another one.
1 John 2
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
So, how do we deal with something that’s as wrapped up in our identity as our desires?
We Need to Remain
1 John 2
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
We start with remember and end with remain. Remember who you are, who God’s called you to be, and don’t live beneath that. But once you remember your position in Christ, remain. John says it 6 times in this passage. Don’t move on, don’t move past, don’t give up, and don’t graduate to something you think is better.
When the world pulls you, when you’re tired, when you don’t see results, when you’re tempted not to trust and to look around at other Jesuses – remain.
Now, movies have a knack for the dramatics, making it pretty easy to see what’s good and evil, but our lives are rarely that clear-cut. There’s a lot more subtlety in real life.
The world around us is always trying to get us to accept a false version of who we should be (Saul’s armor). This isn’t just true for Christians; it’s true for everyone. But for Christians, Satan will attempt to paint the picture of a weaker version of who we actually are in Christ.
It’s not that he’s trying to turn us to the dark side, because that would be easy to spot. He’s trying to get us to give up the high calling of who we are in Christ. He wants us to settle for less, to play small, to forget, or to stay caught up in fear and apathy, to get entangled in the issues and rabbit trails of the world around, and to live and act like everyone else.
We Need to Remember
This is exactly what was happening in the churches John was writing to, and this is what happens to us.
1 John 2
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
In our Bibles, these words look different than the ones around them – like a song or poem. Think about any romantic movie, when you really want to win that other person over or drive the point home, you write a song or a poem.
John starts by telling us to remember. Remember who we are, what we’ve seen. Remember what God has already done and do not settle for less. Then, he sets up the contrast.
1 John 2
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father (the Father’s love) is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
This is why all of us live up to our calling. We don’t want to live below it, but why do we? There’s something that the world and its way of living offer us that seems incredibly appealing. It pulls us in.
- Love – to have inner fellowship with (to give your heart to).
- The World – the things that perish and pass – the things and people that pull you in the opposite direction of God.
Fire can be very good when lit in the right places. In the wrong place, it threatens to burn down an entire house. It takes over.
- Lust of the flesh – I feel something I need that I need to satisfy.
- Lust of the eyes – I see something I want to get. You don’t know it’s missing until you see it.
- Pride of life – There’s something I believe I deserve. Greatness, recognition, privilege, power, position, justice, payback, vindication, a relationship, way of life, or standard of living.
How do you get attached to something like this? You keep it in front of you, meditate on it, create and cultivate a space in your life that you believe it is supposed to fill.
When you feed your desires, they don’t go away, they grow.
Now, this sounds almost religious, like worship.
1 John 2
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
John is talking cryptically here. He’s setting up a standard of comparison – Christ vs. antichrist. When some of us hear that word, it brings to mind the end of times or an apocalypse. But the meaning is simpler, and far more mundane. It means "in place of" or "counter to" Christ. John says that there are a lot of them, not just one. And that’s true.
There are many other places and things we can worship, where we think we put them next to Christ, but they always take the place of Christ. It starts out subtle, but when given the driver’s seat, it will have us embracing a way of living that seeks to substitute all sorts of other things for Jesus as our Savior and our Lord.
We are all wired for worship, it’s just a matter of what, where, who, and when.
The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life never satisfy or even last. We’re always going to be on the hunt for another one.
1 John 2
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
So, how do we deal with something that’s as wrapped up in our identity as our desires?
We Need to Remain
1 John 2
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
We start with remember and end with remain. Remember who you are, who God’s called you to be, and don’t live beneath that. But once you remember your position in Christ, remain. John says it 6 times in this passage. Don’t move on, don’t move past, don’t give up, and don’t graduate to something you think is better.
When the world pulls you, when you’re tired, when you don’t see results, when you’re tempted not to trust and to look around at other Jesuses – remain.
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