Augustine talked about sin as disordered loves, and I think that's what John is getting at here in this letter. We have to remember that God made the world and declared it good, and so much in the world reflects the glory of God. Yesterday, we had Easter worship, and we gathered around the table following worship with family and we reveled in the grace of God. Later, I laid down in a sunbeam and slept for a few minutes, and I loved it. It was fantastic. Easter is a reminder of so much that is good in this world, and of how much there is to love.
The important thing for us is to remember that it's all intended to point us towards God's love. Do the things you love in this world point you to God, to recognize that God is the creator and God has given you these good blessings and that the most important thing is to love God more than you love the things in this world? It's a slippery slope but so easy to start down... we begin to love thing in the world more than God, and it's usually not bad to love things, but little by little, degree by degree, we turn from God and we turn to the world.
So every Sunday is a little Easter, intended to turn our hearts back to God, to remind us of what we should love more than anything.
When you look at the things and people you love most in the world, remember that they are gifts from God, and that the best things in the world are but reminders, shadows of the infinitely greater love of God. May we celebrate what is in this world as things that help us see the love of God and teach us to tell the story!
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