"A New Season"
"Identity" (Relational Truth: part 7)
My true identity is always "rooted and
grounded" in God's love for me because my true identity comes from the Father
who is love (see 1 John 4:8). I am born of God. I belong to God. The love of
the Father is in me. I am a child of God. I walk in the world in the truth of
the Father's will which is sacrificial love. Though I live in the world, I am
not of the world. Devoted to God, I am to live detached from the world's
values, voices and vices: "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him" (1 John 2:15). The love of the Father and the love of the
world are at enmity with each other. As a son/daughter of the Father I am
called to a life of holiness in the midst of a world that is captivated by sin.
I am to renounce the lusts and ambitions that define the spirit of the present
age, and that ultimately lead to futility.
Jesus reminds me, "take courage, I
have conquered the world" (John 16:33). Begotten by God and empowered by
faith, a true child of God shares in this conquering of the world: "The
weapon for the struggle and victory in this inevitable warfare [is] faith"
(Dictionary of Biblical Theology, pp.679-680): "The victory that conquers
the world is our faith. Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the
one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5). A true child of
God with a believing heart can say with St. Paul, "In all these things we
conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us" (Rom. 8:37).
The sin of the world is a hatred of
God and unbelief. The world sins in its refusal to believe in Jesus. Jesus
tells me, "If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because
you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the
world hates you" (John 15:19). The world is blinded by spiritual deceit,
and is opposed to the Spirit of God , the Spirit of truth. When Adam,
through sin, gave over to Satan "his person and dominion" (see Dictionary
of Biblical Theology, p. 678) the world came under the power of the Enemy:
"Sin entered the world at the beginning of history, and with sin, death. Since
then the world has lain in the power of the evil one" (Dictionary, p.
678). But Jesus is the world's light since he brings life to the world. He
shares with each believer his light and power. Satan, the prince of death, has
no power over Jesus. Through my baptism, Jesus is living within me in Spirit.
Hence, I am to stand confident on God's word: "You belong to God, children,
and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is
greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Questions:
1) Are
there areas of my life where I still follow the world's values, voices and
vices?
2) What
are some of the ways that I 'wage war' against the spirit of the world with the
weapon of faith?
Scriptures:
Any scripture from the text; John 18:36; Gal. 6:14; Jas. 4:4
