He who wants to do good, knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gates open.
R. TAGORE THAKUR
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves 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 boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1 JOHN 2:15-16 NASB
When the apostle John referred to the world he was not referring to the earth. Although the world that he speaks of is on the earth and part of the earth, its meaning is not that of only the earth. The earth consists of all the natural elements that are found here, and the spiritual elements such as spirit, mind and soul, exist within the earth. They are not part of the earth. When the body dies it goes back to the earth, but the spirit lives on in a different realm. When the apostle John said, Do not love the world nor the things in the world, he did not mean not to love the earth. We as people must get along with the earth. If we dont we will suffer because of it. I live in a rural community surrounded by dairy and beef farmers. They know from experience that they must love the earth and do all that is within their abilities to take care of it and get along with it. Their lives and the lives of their families depend upon their care of the soil. The world that John refers to is all that comes out of the earth that pulls on our flesh. Things that get our attention through our senses, our eyes, ears, mouth, nose, or touch. These are the physical attractions of the world and there is also a mental attraction that pulls us away from God and into the world. This mental attraction has to do with pride. To have ambitions, to want prosperity, and desire healthy relationships is all part of Gods will for us, but when pride steps in and we become boastful about these things that come out of the earth, and they start to consume us, then we cross over from the spiritual to the worldly. This will block the love of God. Oh, God will still bombard us with love, but the stuff in our lives will make it harder for that love to penetrate. The worldly things in this life that blocked God love for me were found packaged in attractive containers. They came to me in the form of bottles, cans, joints, and syringes. With each attraction came the pull for more and more, and with each successive using my will, and Gods will for me became less and less. This did not happen over night, but was very gradual and happened over years. Drugs and alcohol were a subtle foe that worked on me without me even being aware of them as harmful. Worldly desires are cunning, baffling, and powerful. But praise be to God who kept showering love on me. When my own light was so dim that I was totally in darkness I became aware of the one true Light, the Light of the world. At that point God started doing for me what I could not do for myself ..JRE
Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power, that One is God. May you find Him now.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 58-59
R. TAGORE THAKUR
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves 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 boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1 JOHN 2:15-16 NASB
When the apostle John referred to the world he was not referring to the earth. Although the world that he speaks of is on the earth and part of the earth, its meaning is not that of only the earth. The earth consists of all the natural elements that are found here, and the spiritual elements such as spirit, mind and soul, exist within the earth. They are not part of the earth. When the body dies it goes back to the earth, but the spirit lives on in a different realm. When the apostle John said, Do not love the world nor the things in the world, he did not mean not to love the earth. We as people must get along with the earth. If we dont we will suffer because of it. I live in a rural community surrounded by dairy and beef farmers. They know from experience that they must love the earth and do all that is within their abilities to take care of it and get along with it. Their lives and the lives of their families depend upon their care of the soil. The world that John refers to is all that comes out of the earth that pulls on our flesh. Things that get our attention through our senses, our eyes, ears, mouth, nose, or touch. These are the physical attractions of the world and there is also a mental attraction that pulls us away from God and into the world. This mental attraction has to do with pride. To have ambitions, to want prosperity, and desire healthy relationships is all part of Gods will for us, but when pride steps in and we become boastful about these things that come out of the earth, and they start to consume us, then we cross over from the spiritual to the worldly. This will block the love of God. Oh, God will still bombard us with love, but the stuff in our lives will make it harder for that love to penetrate. The worldly things in this life that blocked God love for me were found packaged in attractive containers. They came to me in the form of bottles, cans, joints, and syringes. With each attraction came the pull for more and more, and with each successive using my will, and Gods will for me became less and less. This did not happen over night, but was very gradual and happened over years. Drugs and alcohol were a subtle foe that worked on me without me even being aware of them as harmful. Worldly desires are cunning, baffling, and powerful. But praise be to God who kept showering love on me. When my own light was so dim that I was totally in darkness I became aware of the one true Light, the Light of the world. At that point God started doing for me what I could not do for myself ..JRE
Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power, that One is God. May you find Him now.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 58-59
