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Overcoming The World

         In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (I John 5:3-5)

Let’s start at the top. Loving God means being a Stepford wife, mechanically doing everything He expects of us? Without a thought of a will of our own? How demeaning? Who wants a god like that? But reverse it for a moment. Do we think God loves us if/when He “never does what we ask” of Him? Would we think our family members loved us if they never did anything we told them to? I suspect we can think God doesn’t love us because He doesn’t do what we ask - amid abundant blessings.

Moving on to the second statement, which seems odd. God’s commands aren’t burdensome? Two thoughts come to mind. When I do something for a friend or someone I love, it often doesn’t feel like a burden. It’s only when I get tangled up in myself that doing something is burdensome. But John in the same sentence, John said that those who obey His commands overcome the world. As kids, we may have seen what our parents, teachers, and coaches imposed on us as burdensome, but as adults, chances are good that we realize those things were for our benefit. They strengthened us and gave us useful skills.

But then John went on to make more amazing statements. Who has overcome the world? Everyone who is born of God. What victory has overcome the world? Our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. How burdensome is that? It is very burdensome for some who wish to dictate in God’s place. If our ego is chained to others bowing to us (and it is our fallen nature to desire this), then obeying God by believing what He tells us will be burdensome.  

The problem that we tend to lock that chain around our wrists without even realizing it. We would do well to build the habit of noticing when falling into that rut sooner rather than later.

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