The War Zone

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you,
for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see,
and pride in our achievements and possessions.
These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.
But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
1 John 2:15–17

The world is a war zone full of foes that must be faced. If it were not for the reliable promises God has given in the pages of His Book, a spirit of fatalism would reign supreme. The battle would already be lost.

Too bleak? An exaggeration? You decide after reading these words from the pen of the apostle John: “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19 NASB). Three words—”the power of”—appear in italics in the text. The editors of the New American Standard Bible have added these words to make the passage clearer. Let me suggest a further variation: “The whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one” (italics mine).

Satan, our relentless enemy, has a game plan, and it’s on the board. Knowing that his days are numbered, knowing that he has an appointed amount of time before the scoreboard counts him out, he holds the world in his lap and gives it directions, implementing his strategy day after day.

On the surface, his plays are impressive and appealing and very satisfying . . . for a while. So long as the adversary can keep earth’s inhabitants believing his lies and blinded to his schemes, he will continue his subtle strategy. But the truth is, his ploys work against everything that is holy and just and good. I repeat Isaac Watts’ question: “Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help us on to God?”

Indeed, it is not. Then who or what are we to love? Jesus’ words come to mind:

“This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:17–18 NASB)

What can we expect from the world? Hatred, persecution, tribulation. Those three reactions should never surprise us. They are not pleasant, for sure, but we have no reason to be caught off guard . . . or, for that matter, to feel abandoned or overwhelmed. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NASB).