Thursday 15 January 2026

Psalm 119:49-64

Background
As we read 1 John, themes reappear. The writer is testing whether some of the energy of love is being misplaced. “Do not love the world or anything in the world” (2:15). In case we miss the possible misdirection of our love 'the world' is mentioned six times!

This view of 'the world' might jar on us because of the contrast with John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Those words undoubtedly speak of God’s love for the creation and individuals on earth. 'The world' can, however, be taken to mean all aspects of human society that are allergic to God. In John’s Gospel Christians are spoken of as having been chosen 'out of the world' (17:6).

Three examples of this 'false love' are provided in verse 16 “…the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches.” The theologian CH Dodd referred to them as “base desires, false values and egoism”. There have been attempts to fit these three false paths to Adam and Eve at the apple tree in Genesis, Jesus' temptations or to a variety of other examples. Fortunately none of these prove to be an exact fit. Excessive order in the spiritual life is a dangerous thing. We must discern the places where our engagement with the world around us – interpersonal, economic, social – conflicts with our love of God. To be a veteran of faith is to have grown in the knowledge of what God wants.

1 John embeds our path in the love of God in the new age that has dawned in Jesus. The world will pass away but life in God will endure forever (v. 17).

I John was written many years ago and 'the world' is still as self-obsessed as ever. What do we make of this reality 2000 years after Jesus was born? Two things might help us to reflect on the passage of time. First, in the timescale of the universe, it is the blinking of an eye between the nativity and today. Second, because we are well informed about global warming and the fragility of our planet, we know what it is to wrestle with world-changing truths and everyday life.

To Ponder:

• What is your experience of the world as a thing of beauty and a gift of God?
• What is your experience of the world as a place of shadow, darkness perhaps even hostility to God?
• How do you balance your life between these two opposite poles?

Prayer
Let me love thee so that the honour, riches and pleasures of the world may seem unworthy even of hatred – may be not even encumbrances. (Coventry Patmore 1823-1896)

Bible notes author: The Revd Bob Sneddon
Bob Sneddon is a retired presbyter who lives on the south coast of England. He has had five varied circuit appointments over some 40 years and before that worked in India for a year. In retirement he is enjoying making a garden and walking.