Are You Isolated from God?

Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.  Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.  The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.   1 John 2:15-17 (MSG)

Are you wrapped up in the world's ways?   Always working for more.  More money, more pleasure, more prestige and more of what you want?  When these things begin to grow in me, I can feel the disconnect from God.   The "now" becomes more important than the "eternal" things God is working on in my life.   I see it in the way I treat people.   If they can't contribute to my pursuits, I move right past them without even considering if God is doing something in their lives.   When I'm seeking the things of this world, I'm not really intested in what God is doing in "my" life; why then would I be interested in what He is doing in yours.   Sounds pretty bad when I put it like that.

The failthfulness of God is an amazing thing.  Just when the world is about to gain a foothold in my life, He shows up and engages in the process of bringing me back to Him.  He uses anything and everything to get my attention.   It may be a problem that causes me to look to Him.  It may be an opportunity to help someone, even though I don't want to.   It may be a song on the radio or a word of encouragement from a Christian brother of sister.  It may be a very faint but recognizable voice saying, "Bob, where are you?"

And then I come home.  I simply take my focus off of what is going to pass away and put it on what will never pass away.  I confess my waywardness, I fix my eyes on Jesus and I look for Him in my life and in the life of others.  Soon, instead of doing what benefits me, I find myself joining Jesus as He blesses others.  And in that moment I realize just how fortunate I am to know Jesus Christ who is the author and perfector of my faith!  

Where are you today?  Where is your focus?