1 John 2:15-17
For
the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series! The hero of
the final game for the Cubs was Ben Zobrist. In the top of the 10th
inning, he hit a double driving in the go ahead run. In fact, he was named the
Most Valuable Player of the whole series. But winning the World Series and
being named the MVP is not what is most important to him.
"I think that we are all placed wherever we
are to share the Gospel and the good news. And the good news is that we can all
be saved from our sins. I am grateful to be able to bring that to the game and
to my teammates, and to anyone I come in contact with. God's given me a great
platform to be able to share that and I will do that as long as God's given me
the breath to do it." (Taken from an interview with Tom Rust on Face to
Face at www.facetofaceradio.com)
Here’s
a man who on the surface has everything that the world has to offer. Fame,
fortune and power; anything he desires he can have. Most of us will never experience
anything close to this, but we still feel the pull of the world. In fact, John’s
words strike
a little too close to home for us.
15-17 Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things
in it. A person cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. For
the whole world-system, based as it is on human primitive desires, their greedy
ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from
the Father at all, but from the world itself. The world and all its passionate
desires will one day disappear. But the person who is following God’s will is
part of the permanent and cannot die. J.B. Phillips translation
For
108 years, the Cubs chased after another World Series. Isn’t that what the
world-system is based on; “human
primitive desires, greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think
splendid”?
Don’t
get me wrong. I love sports and cheer for my teams; and I strive after things
of
this world, but that’s just the point. We struggle every day to give our
hearts to our Father; to love Him and not the world; and to follow His will.
Every
day we face decisions that will reflect our love for Him… or not. Every day we
struggle with the temptations of the world. Every day we fight the good fight
so that in the end God will say to us, “Well
done my good and faithful servant”.
(If
God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it
with others.)
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