Cleared for Landing

“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.” 
1 John 2:15 (ESV)

Every major airport runs six to eight runways, with planes lifting off and touching down around the clock. Each plane is powerful, and none is dangerous by itself. But no airport survives if those planes ignore the tower and land wherever they please.

Your emotions are planes taking off from your life, and they do so several times a day. Some carry joy. Some carry anger, fear, or disappointment. None of those emotions are wrong to feel, but without something guiding them, they crash into your marriage, your job, and your kids, all before 8:00 a.m.

That’s why love has to run the tower. The Apostle John writes, “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” (1 John 2:15, ESV). 

What does John mean when he says, “world”? He’s not talking about the trees outside your window or the people God sent His Son to save. He’s talking about a whole way of thinking that fights to take God’s place in your heart.

You can love your career the way God wants you to, until it starts asking for the place in your heart that belongs to Him. The same is true for comfort, money, or what other people think of you. Any one of these can take over every runway you have.

What is fighting for first place in your heart? Tell God He comes first today, not that other person or thing. Let Him run the tower before a single plane takes off. Nothing this world offers lands as well as what stays under His control.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your love. Right now, let Your love be the control tower of my life. I don’t want to give my own preferences, comfort, or desires the control. Let my heart and mind be captive to the Word of God and the will of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.