www.bible.com/111/1jn.2.15-16.niv
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.-1 John 2:15-17
It is ironic that the disciple nicknamed the “son of thunder” for wanting to call down thunder on an unbelieving town, would become known later in his life for his teaching on love and the importance of love. John’s time with Jesus changed him and as a result of this change he wanted to help others change too. John knew that the way to change was to fully surrender yourself to Jesus. To fully surrender to Jesus means that you have given up your old way of life and the old things that you “loved”. It means that you put God first and doing his will above everything else. John is giving us the same message that Jesus gave us when he said “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money”(Matthew 6:24 NIV). If are a follower of Jesus and have truly surrendered your life to him then you will love him. And the things of this world, that you formerly loved, will no longer hold any value for you. Are you struggling with “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” today? (By the way these 3 things are the root cause of almost all of the sin that happens in your life.) Then surrender them to God and he will help you to withstand the temptations that you will face, but it is not a time surrender you’ve got to keep surrendering those things in your life that take the place of God. Choose today are you going to live a surrendered live of loving God or are you goin to choose to live a life apart from God and loving the things of this world.