Breaking the World’s Enchantment {a devotional}
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:17.
The
lessons of Christ are of that character to show the relative importance
of heaven and earth. He presents before the mind’s eye that the claims
of heaven are first in importance. God’s claims are supreme. He demands
the whole heart, mind, might, and strength. Earthly things He assigns
their place, to be subordinate to the eternal interests.
The
temptations of Satan present earthly things and make them all-absorbing
and attractive, so that the heavenly realities are eclipsed and the
attachment to the world made first; and this has become so great a power
that Omnipotence alone can dislodge it. Satan’s work is to chain the
senses to this world. Christ came to break the satanic enchantment,
counterwork the work of Satan, and charm the mind away from the earthly
to the heavenly. He alone is able to break the enchantment.... A few
years and the world and all its glory, which has through the bewitching
power of the great deceiver become an object of worship, are to be
burned, with all the embellishments of the art of man. Then what will be
found to compensate for the loss of the human soul?
The
Prince of life calls the attention to the eternal world.... He would
have the infinite grandeur of the future hold the attraction of human
minds, and the present world take its subordinate place in the
affections. He sets in order things that Satan has transposed. Having
taken the world from the throne where it has become a ruling power and
worshiped as a god, He assigns it its proper place....
With
eternal realities in view we will habitually cultivate thoughts of the
presence of God. This will be a shield against the incoming of the
enemy; it will give strength and assurance, and lift the soul above
fear. Breathing in the atmosphere of heaven, we will not be breathing
the malaria of the world. We will not remain in the darkened cellar, but
come up into the upper chambers where every window that looks toward
heaven is open and catches the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. ~Our High Calling, by E.G.White
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