Where is my center? ...

Friday, Nov 13, 2015. Some time ago I had to put a lot of work into our house. We want to live there with a family with three kids, so we tried to prepare room for each kid, and also prepare a guest room in the cellar. Then, the rain came and we had a lot of water down there, needed to throw away the carpets and many other things. And I asked myself: what role does this house have in your life?

What do you love? …

To me, the water in our cellar was an important hint: It is just a house! Come on, it is useful, yes, but it should not play a bigger role in your life. There are so many important things. But this applies not only to the house, but to many other things in our life as well.

What is it that determines who I am and how I feel. We can stick our heart to many things. We can try to become an important politician. We can try to be influential. We can try to govern some little space. We can try to have a lot of money. Some develop their role to influence a particular group of people. But does that make you to what you are? If it does, poor you!

We live in a competitive world. Companies need to claim that their services or products are unique and great. People need to claim that they are world leading - and of course we want to provide high quality to our customers. But we need to understand that it cannot be the center of our life to be world leading. It is a rat race, and we need to be careful with how we play the game!

John's words …

Let us read what the apostle John writes about the center of our life:

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life3—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2)

We are invited to something way better than the rat race. We are invited to something better than the pride, the desires, the purely worldly things. We need to see that the love of God leads to loving your neighbor. But that is a different love than the love of the world. It is a love based in the grace and joy of God. It is a love which knows where your center and basis is. It does not stick your heart to others now, but your heart belongs to God, and since it belongs to God, you can love the other people in all freedom and dedication.

Do not love the world is an invitation, which can free your heart and your mind. With the right center and the right balance, joy comes. (RWEP) ... more texts