1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Walking in the light of love must be carefully interpreted and understood. In our day and age, we often hear the phrase, “Love wins.” These words are not bad in themselves, but are often used in reference to moral or immoral issues. As long as we “love” to do something or someone, it is acceptable. We mistake loving the world for loving God or loving others in Christlike ways. The idea of “love” is easily misinterpreted, especially in subjective terms of feelings. If I feel good about someone or something, then it must be love. The world offers us many good feelings. This is especially true when it comes to satisfying our natural instincts and drives (food, sexuality, survival, etc.). The problem is that feelings come and go. The feelings of goodness come when certain of our drives are satisfied (what Paul the Apostle called the “flesh”). But we cannot continually satisfy these feelings. Sometimes our bodies cannot handle it, sometimes we cannot keep the situation going, or many other reasons. Good feelings from the flesh come and go.
If our focus is on the world and its empty promises, we are missing out on God’s love. Our misdirected emotions and the empty promises of satisfaction from the world suck our focus away from God. We only truly come to know what love is when we love God and experience God’s love in our lives.
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