Do you Love the World?

 

    Do you love the world?  It can be difficult to have the right balance of affection for the world.  As a Christian, you live in this world.  You are immersed in it and it affects every aspect of your life.  However, you are also not a part of the world.  I are the one that should be influencing the world around you as you defeat the ways the world tries to take a hold on you.

    Some Christians love the world a little too much and you can't tell a difference between them and non-Christians.  The there are other Christians that don't love the world enough.  How do you know where you fit in the spectrum of love for the world?  Well, that is between you and God, but there are some things you can do to test yourself.

    To figure out how much you love the world over your relationship with God, you can start simply by asking yourself some questions.  Maybe write them in a prayer journal and record your answers to pray over until you think you have a heart like God in the areas.  One question to ask is do I hate sin, but love the sinner or do I hate the sinner for sinning?

    You can't be in the world as a beacon of light if you have hate for people in your heart.  You can't be a living and holy sacrifice if you can't sacrifice your pride when people hurt you.  Love requires actively pursuing forgiveness.  That leads to another question:  Am I able to forgive?

    God does not care for a lukewarm Christian.  It is better to be cold and have a place to start, then to be indifferent.  You will never be able to love the world the way Jesus did if you are not passionate.  As a Christian you are required to live a holy lifestyle, but that does not mean that you can be indifferent or even think you are better than non-Christians just because you are a part of God's family.  You need to find passion for people to want them to become a part of the family too.

    When you choose to walk away from sin, some people in the world will hate you.  They hate you because they hate Jesus.  However, some people will see that you are different in a good way and they will be attracted to Jesus because of how you choose  to live your life.  That means you need to give your entire life: heart, mind, soul, and energy to God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in how best to use them.

    As a Christian, you are only a good person because you are trying to live like Jesus.  By God's standards, no one is a good person.  We are all flawed and tainted by sin.  That means you are no better than a non-Christian.  It also means that no one gets to decide who is a good person.  That is God's decision to make.  

    If you want to live like Jesus, then you have to be willing to sacrifice your desires, spiritual ideology, emotional baggage, and mental traps.  You give that to God and replace it with the armor of God.  Over time, the more you are in God's Word the more you will become like Jesus.  That means as you invest into your personal relationship with Jesus, the more you become acceptable.  You will never be worthy of the gift he gave, but you can be acceptable.

Psalms 73:21-26, Romans 5:3-5, 1 John 2:15-17 & 5:21