Saturday-Riding the Fence

Happy Saturday! I hope you have a good day ahead of you. I had a great day yesterday--it was Grandparents' Day in Webb City where four of my grandkids attend school. However, two of them are in the same grade at the same school but different classes. That meant I had to split myself. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that and I stressed for a few days before. It went pretty well, because I grabbed one and hit the other classroom and then, we ran back and forth between the rooms. It made for a little more difficult time to say the least. And we didn't get to just "relax and enjoy" because I constantly felt like I was supposed to be in the other room. 


It's tough to split yourself between two places. You never feel comfortable and always reaching for the other place. That what happens when we try to live on the fence and keep some of ourselves in the world and some in the kingdom. Inevitably we are miserable and eventually fall into the world. I think that's what John is trying to tell us in these 3 verses. 


"Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭MSG‬‬


That's pretty strong stuff, huh? The book of first John was written as a circular letter to the early churches. Isn't it amazing how the first century Christians struggled with the exact same thing we do--the influence of the world. And it's next to impossible to "love" the things of the world and be in love with Jesus. Just like me running between classes and never really committing to either. 


Today decide which room you are going to be in and purpose to stay there. And pick the one that is forever because this world is slipping away but when you follow the Master, you live for eternity. 


Love you friend,

Pam

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