We were traveling outside of our home country anticipating that we could access our bank account using our client card. Not! Our attempts failed because our pin number was deemed invalid. Yikes! That put a real damper on things.
John, the disciple of Jesus, writes to believers:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. (1Jn 2:15 NIV)
He is urging them not to be devoted to worldliness, not to align their lives to the unruly desires of darkness. That kind of lifestyle puts us out of fellowship with God and makes His blessings ineffective in our lives. It’s as if we have travelled to a foreign land and our Kingdom client card no longer is able to access the storehouse of heaven.
As children of God we are becoming more and more like Jesus. But we are not yet sinless as He is. There are times when our choices and priorities have been marred by the wants and wiles of this world. When the Spirit makes that known to us, we need to own it, confess it and receive God’s forgiveness through Jesus. That kind of response ensures we are once again walking in the light, where we have full access to all the spiritual blessings God has in store for us.
Are you doing your part to keep your Kingdom pin valid?
2 Comments
Matthew
Accepting that we are not to not “love the world” in the context of coveting or wanting what isn’t ours, how can we put our blessings in context (ie the old adage of “count your blessings” as a part of learning contentment) such that we are not having “boastful pride in life”? How can one maintain the thankfulness and comfort in the blessings that God has given us, but not cross over to the line of arrogance and boastfulness?
Dave (Author)
Hi Matthew, I think you have already identified something key and that is gratitude. We are thanking God for His spiritual and material blessings, which when done rightly, involves a recognition that we have not earned these things. I also think humble service, that is, using the blessings God has given us to truly serve another helps us check our arrogance and boastfulness.