Remain in Him.
This one simple phrase has been so prevalent throughout what I have read of the book of 1 John so far. It is so short but so powerful and relevant to what we go through every single day.
I feel as though everyday I have a choice to make: will I live for the world and its things or will I live for Jesus? The world is so loud. Everyday we are faced with its endless shouting. It barges into our headspace, demanding to be seen and appreciated. It is shouting, “look at me! Follow me! Be like me! I will give you likes, praises, popularity, money, and so much more!” All the while Jesus is next to us, His eyes locked on us. And He is calling our names.
Philippians 4:8 reminds us, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy - dwell on these things.”
I have found myself intently listening to the world more times than I’d like to admit. It’s in my face shouting at me, and I am sitting there dumbfounded; soaking it all in. I am convinced by the words I am hearing and the things that I’m seeing to the point where I begin to believe that the world’s ways are the right ways - that they are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. But all the while there is tension in my soul. I am left feeling unsettled and uneasy. And that’s when Jesus reminds me through His Word that the things of the world will only leave us empty in the end.
I was watching Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with my family the other night. In this movie, Lucy is obsessed with her appearance. She wants to be prettier, she wants to be lovely, and she ultimately wants to look like her sister Susan. She watches the pretty girls brush their hair behind their ears while talking to boys and she mimics them; seeking out the looks the boys give. She wants to be noticed. She wants to be loved. Lucy is tempted many times to change her appearance in some way, and each time, Aslan appears to her and shouts one thing: Lucy! He shouts with a tone that is both angry and upset. His voice roars like the lion he is in desperation to pull Lucy out of the lies she is drowning in. But he is also angry with her for believing such lies in the first place.
What Lucy was doing in these moments of temptation was wishing herself away. She was forgetting the vital role God had called her to play all because she fell prey to the world and what it told her she should be. Aslan appears and reminds her of who he says she is. It was Lucy who discovered Narnia, it was Lucy who opened the wardrobe in which her brothers and sister were able to embark on the most unforgettable adventures of their lives, and it was Lucy who represented child-like faith through and through. She was always able to see Aslan, even when siblings couldn’t. Aslan always appeared to her first. He entrusted her to tell the others of his arrival and to convince them to follow him. Through her unwavering faith in following Aslan and her pleading to her siblings to do the same, even when they could not see, was pivotal in each of them fulfilling the purpose that Aslan had for their presence in Narnia. But as she grew older, she felt she needed to change. Somewhere between her youth and her journey into becoming a woman, the world stepped in and told her she was incapable, unworthy, and inadequate as she was. The world told her she needed to do more and be more. But Aslan reminded her of her irreplaceable role in the story; her irreplaceable role in saving the kingdom of Narnia not once, but three times.
Perhaps you were born for such a time as this. - Esther 4:14
Only Lucy could do all that Aslan had planned for her from the beginning. She had forgotten this because of the noise of the world around her - Aslan stepped in, locked eyes with her, and spoke the truth.
The world has a way of barging in and stripping us from who we are. We have to remember that we are actively and passionately pursued by two forces who are powerful and will go to extremes in order to win our hearts. John and Stasi Eldredge said it best in their book Captivating when they stated, “you are passionately loved by the God of the universe. You are passionately hated by his Enemy.” Life is hard, messy, and challenging because we fall prey to Satan’s voice when we let him get in our heads. God and Satan are at war with one another for our hearts. Satan is deceiving and evil. He has a way of luring us into the world with its temptations.
But Psalms 119:37 reminds us to, “turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your ways.”
Satan presents things to us that seem good but in reality their praises are only temporary... they are worthless. Jesus gives life. He covers us in His truth.
Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. - 1 John 3:13
I have had “friends” who have made me feel like something is wrong with me based on who I am and some of the decisions I have made for myself in my life.
“What do you mean you don’t party?”
“You don’t drink? Yeah right.”
“You don’t cuss? I don’t believe you.”
“Taylor never understands the dirty jokes,” or “Don’t say that, there are children present!” (referencing my presence).
They have treated me like a child for these things, like I am suddenly “less-than.” I’ve held my ground and tried to roll with the punches, but man has it been hard. I often felt like I was constantly having to explain myself to others. I don’t say these things to say that I’m “better” than everyone else because I certainly am not. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes - more than I can even count. But what I didn‘t understand was why I have always respected their life decisions, but for some reason they were constantly questioning mine. I was suddenly some exotic animal behind a cage at a zoo who didn’t make any sense to anyone.
While this was incredibly frustrating (in fact, I can feel the anger rising in me as I recall these memories), I know that they came with a purpose in mind. They made me tougher. They showed me what it truly means to seek out the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. They showed me just how challenging a journey with Jesus really is, but they also showed me that we are all worthy of love, forgiveness, and grace. Even the people who have hurt us or made us feel less-than. ESPECIALLY the people who have hurt us or made us feel less-than. I think what sets Christians apart is our ability to love our enemies and to forgive them. That is something that God is teaching me through every hurtful remark that comes my way. Something I have to remind myself is that these hurtful remarks are often stemmed from a very broken place in that person’s heart. As my dad always says to me, “you can hate the sin, but always love the sinner.”
Satan is loud and of the world. He tells us we aren’t pretty enough, we aren’t lovely, we aren’t successful enough, we can’t do anything right, we’re failures, something is wrong with us, the list could go on. Once we let these thoughts into our head, it all goes downhill from there. These thoughts feed off of one another until we’ve found ourselves falling down a slippery slope, unable to grasp onto anything tangible and reasonable to save us. But God tells us we are made in His image.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared ahead of time for us to do so.”
Just as He created the stars in the sky, the animals of the land and sea, the sunsets and the sunrises; He created you, too. He made you and He called you good.
There are two voices in our heads fighting for a space to take over and multiply and thrive. One is full of lies and one speaks over us with truth.
The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. - 1 John 4:4
God and Satan are so desperately reaching for our guarded hearts... which will you let in?
