”Little children, guard yourselves from the idols.”
-This then is the last thing he says to them, to his readers, to us. Not any kind of traditional leave-taking, which of course would have been customary (and still is), particularly if you had any kind of relationship with your reader(s). So it would be safe to conclude (again) that John most likely does NOT know those to whom he is writing. But he does care about them. Again he calls them (and us) little children. this now the seventh time he calls us that in this letter. Obviously he cares, he has a fond affection for us, he sees himself in some kind of a fatherly, protective, corrective role with us, his readers. Our big brother, John, who’s watching out for us.
-Yes, he wants to protect us and guard us, his readers, his younger brothers and sisters in the faith, protect us from false teaching and from false teachers, from the value systems of the world, from the schemes of evil one, and really from anything which might distract us from simple and pure devotion to Christ (like Paul - cf 1Corinthians 7.35, 2Corinthians 11.3). John certainly wants his readers to avoid slipping back into any kind of syncretistic devotion to pagan idols. This would necessarily have included the cultural practice of idol worship. All these are some of the forces from without, things outside us over which we often have no control. We may not be able to control these outside influences, like our culture and how it devotes itself to various forms of godlessness. But we do have control over the inside, over our heart, out of which flow the springs of life. Long before John wrote to us, Solomon advised us to watch carefully over our heart (Proverbs 4.23). As it turns out, the battle for our faith turns here, it is the fulcrum of our faith - to whom or to what do we (ultimately) give our heart? And is this not the fundamental nature of an idol, something which we make ultimate instead of God, which we put in His rightful place? John warns us against idols, and among the nations, they are wont to craft statues and images which represent (i.e. take the place of) deities and spirits. These are the traditional idols to which John is certainly referring, at least in part. Of course in the modern west we know that such an idol is no more than the wood or clay or metal out of which it is made (1Corinthians 8.4). An image, or a statue, or anything else, is not an idol - UNTIL - we give it our heart in a way that supplants God from being utmost in our affections. But as such, anything can (and indeed does) become an idol IF (and when) we give it our heart. This is the one thing which only we can control, and this then is the heart of what John is warning against. Because it is the one thing which has the most potential to trip us up in our walk with the Lord. So, John says, guard yourselves, people. It is an aorist command, which means we make a simple, once-and-for-all decision to stay away from any lesser affections and to (p)reserve our primary devotion for the God Who made us and loves us and Who alone can satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. It’s not that we don’t find joy in another, in something lesser, but rather that we keep it and everything else in its proper place in the hierarchy of our affections. We keep it in perspective. In enjoying that which is fundamentally lesser, we recognize and affirm that any such joy and pleasure we may derive from the lesser is made possible by the greater, by our Great Joy-Maker and Giver Himself. We (learn to) turn earthly joy into thanksgiving and worship, and channel that into even greater enjoyment of Him. First things (or Thing) first.
-Not a farewell then, but an urging to fare well in this, in "firstlies", in keeping First Thing first. Lastly, and firstly, and above all else, keep Him Who is the First and the Last first and last and above all else. The last comand John gives us here reflects the heart of the Great Command, to love the Lord with ALL our heart and soul and strength. It echoes the essence of the first (four) of the Ten Commands - you will have NO OTHER gods before Me. In other words, set Me apart in your hearts and lives and keep Me first. Nothing else in My place, He says. We put nothing else, no thing, no person before Him. First place. Head of the table. That is God’s place - and WE GET TO CHOOSE! We are the ones who determine who (or what) sits in God’s place, first place - nobody else. No one else can put anything else in God’s place in our hearts. And they can’t make us. The world can’t make us, our family can’t make us, the devil can’t make us, our boss can’t make us. Our flesh can’t make us. Now, these can (and do try to) make that choice extremely difficult. Sometimes their efforts are overt and extreme. Other times they are more subtle. But in the end, and every moment of every day, I get to choose. I do choose. Choose now, John says, and choose wisely. Choose the Lord, before anything or anyone else. Once and for all. Lock it in and rip off the knob. What’s your pleasure?
No comments:
Post a Comment