Once Judas Iscariot determined to betray the Lord, the earthly ministry of Christ hastened toward the time of His crucifixion. As the time of His death drew near, the Lord Jesus took the disciples to Gethsemane so that He could spend time praying. He asked them to watch while He went to the Father in prayer; however, when the Lord returned from prayer, He found the disciples asleep. He woke them and rebuked Peter saying, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” What a horrible rebuke as Peter, along with the others, realized that he had failed this one simple request! After everything that the Lord had done for the disciples, they could not force themselves to watch for one hour. In like manner, many believers are going to find out the consequences at the judgment seat of Christ of failing to watch for the Lord.
God is love, but that does not mean that everything that people love is of God. Today’s verse warns believers not to love the world or the things that are in the world. God’s people are repeatedly admonished about this because believers are prone to love things and people contrary to the will of God. The Christian’s heroes are generally no different than the world's heroes. We have many Bible examples of men who loved those of whom God disapproved. Samson exemplified this in his love for Delilah (Judges 16:4). Amnon had an unrighteous love for his sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1). Solomon failed in this area by loving “many strange women” (1 Kings 11:1). Demas left the ministry because he “loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Unfortunately, the heart of a believer can be drawn to love things and people displeasing to the Lord. It is always important to consider the object of our love and refuse to make excuses when we know better.
