Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever. (1 Jn 2:15-17)
This is the Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas. We continue to celebrate that great and wondrous day when Jesus Christ took on flesh and blood in the mystery of the Incarnation and was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a manger in Bethlehem.
The Almighty God, the King of the Universe was born into poverty. His birth was heralded by the angels not to the rich and powerful and elite but to shepherds out in the fields.
There is a reason for that.
Jesus came to call His people and to remind them that this world is not “where it’s at”. This world is merely a way-station as we await God’s call to come home to Him.
As we wait, we need to be busy doing God’s work.
Therein lies the problem.
The world makes all sorts of promises to us in order to get us to embrace its values. However, the world, tainted by sin, cannot possibly give us what we truly need. It cannot give us eternity with God. Quite to the contrary, if we embrace the world and all its temptations, it will lead us away from God.
Jesus, the Light and Love of God, was born to us so that He could lead us away from the snares of the world. Let Him lead you today.
FAITH ACTION: Pray that you be given the grace you need to avoid temptation in all its forms this day.