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Vermont Community Newspaper Group
“Do not love the world or anything in the world.” It may seem a bit hypocritical, considering we are commanded to walk in love. But Pastor Russ Rathier expanded on this statement as he spoke from 1John 2:15-17.
The world in which he speaks of in these verses is not the physical world we live in. The Earth and all that is in it was created by God. How could we not love it? The world he spoke of is not that of humanity, for God so loved that world that he gave his only begotten son to save it.
Of course, we should love mankind. So, what is this world in which he speaks? It’s the ideals, the patterns and the systems that govern this world that we should not love. It is the unbridled desires for the material and temporal things of this world that lead us into doing what we want instead of what God wants.
Chasing after what we think we want will always leave us feeling empty. The world can never fulfill you and will always leave you wanting more, needing more. That is the trap we need to avoid.
This world’s system is one of self-indulgence and self-centeredness. There is no room for God when your life revolves around you. In the center of sin is “I” and if we walk with God, if we love God, we cannot love a world that centers itself around ourselves. Jesus has so much more to offer. He knows the true desire of our hearts and he is the only one who can satisfy our soul.
— Jennifer Shaw
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