It does not take a scientist to understand that we move in the direction that we are looking. If we look right, we will shift toward the right without us even trying. If we look straight ahead, we will continue walking straight ahead without even thinking about moving in that direction. This is also true about the steps we take in life, including our spiritual lives. Whether we realize it or not, we are all looking toward something, and where we look determines our destination. The question is, are we looking at the things of this world or Christ and His kingdom?
John warns us against idolatry, looking to anyone or anything above God in 1 John 4. In this passage of Scripture, he reminds us who God is and what Christ has done for us. He writes in this passage of Scripture, "And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life" (verses 11-12). God is the author and sustainer of eternal life. He is the one who reigns supreme. As a result, He is the only one worthy of worship. When we place any person or thing in the place that only God deserves, we have engaged in idolatry. As the book of 1 John comes to an end, John ends with a clear and poignant command: “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (verse 21). This commandment is reminiscent of God’s calling to His people throughout Scripture to forsake idolatry. After all, if He is God, and He is, He alone deserves our worship.
We may not worship carved images like the people of the Old Testament, but we all have created idols today. These idols are sneaky. They do not seem like idols at first. These idols include things like possessions, our reputations, our wealth, a particular person whom we idolize, or something else. These things may not seem bad to an outsider, but we know better. We know that when we worship anything besides God, we have created idols for ourselves. This breaks God's heart. Idolatry must be put to an end. I urge you, my friend, to turn from any idols you have created in your life and look straight to Him. He alone leads to eternal life.
It is time to shift our focus directly on Christ and His kingdom instead of the things of this world. We must let go of any idols in our lives that we have been looking to instead of Christ. What idols have you created for yourself that you have been focusing on? Confess these idols to God and commit to looking to Him and Him alone. After all, He alone is worthy of all of our worship.
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
16 If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
