“The World Passeth Away”

Sunday, August 18, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love 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 pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

1 John 2:15–17

One of the striking characteristics of the world around us is the desperate longing of people for acceptance and approval. There are many searching for genuine love through every means imaginable, but nothing apart from God can satisfy that desire. Every temporal pleasure is fleeting, as Solomon discovered when he attempted to find meaning in life from wealth and pleasure. Even with nearly unlimited power and resources, Solomon ended up feeling that life was worthless. “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

The problem is that the things of the world by their desire are alluring. It is easy for us to be drawn away from loving God as we should, and to try to replace His role in the center of our hearts with something else. That never works. No matter how attractive the present world may appear to be on the outside, it is a dead end road. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). This is just as true for a Christian as it is for an unbeliever. Though we do not face the ultimate penalty of Hell, the path of sin always brings destruction.

Today's Growth Principle: 

If our hearts are fixed on things that will perish, we will never find real meaning in life.