The disciple of Jesus Christ must eventually come to terms with the world. By “coming to terms” I do not mean compromise; I mean a way of dealing with it. First I must recognize what the world is; and then I must learn how to conquer it. What the world is can best be described by defining what it is not; it is “not from the Father” (1 John 2:16). The world’s basic motives, instincts, and attitudes do not originate from God. The world’s behavior, therefore, cannot be of God. If I have been born again into God’s family, I should not be surprised to find that this world is “no friend to grace.”
As to conquering the world I must remember that “the world and its desires pass away” (1 John 2:17, NIV). That nondurability is characteristic of the world. Many aspects of the world are sinful and temporary, but many other aspects are good and temporary. The only way I can conquer the world is to invest myself in something that will endure.
The “eternal life” of the Bible is more than endless existence; it is qualitative existence as well. To have eternal life is to “know … God” (John 17:3). But to know God in the Bible sense is to be personally acquainted with His qualities such as love, mercy, and righteousness. Those are the qualities that have no limits, no ends. To say that I own three houses means that one day I shall have to leave them; but to say I am filled with the love of God means that I have something that will last forever. The Bible always urges me on to possess that which I cannot leave or lose. The biblical “fool” is always the man who sacrifices the “far off’ for the near at hand. The opposite is shining victory. “To him who overcomes [the world], I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in [the midst of] the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
Daily with the King 