This post was last updated on March 26, 2026

Day 3 (Year 2)

The Distance Between Believers and the World

“For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1b NASB)

The word “world” in the above verse is the Greek kosmos, and here denotes “the entire human alienated from God, and hostile to the cause of Christ.” In other passages, it also means “the earthly goods, riches, pleasures, etc., which stir evil desires, and are obstacles to the cause of Christ.” Thus, believers who truly know God and have become His children are fundamentally different from unbelievers. We are called not only to know God, but to cultivate an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, which means we need to remove every obstacle to faith, including sinful desires with the values and inner systems connected to them, so as not to be tempted into worldly sins.

When we accept Jesus’ invitation to be Lord and become children of the heavenly Father, we step into an entirely different world. We change ourselves from hostility toward God to draw closer to Him, and from enjoying or even indulging sinful desires to confronting and rooting them out. Changing our worlds does not merely refer to what surrounds us outwardly, but also to what our hearts are constantly pursuing inwardly. The key difference between believers and unbelievers, beyond their relationship with God, lies in attitudes toward sinful desires. If we fail to understand the sources of our desires but allow those desires and worldly pursuits to lead us all the way, we will not only distance ourselves from God, but also will be deeply ensnared, controlled by the devil, and substantially subjected to the god of this world. The foundation of being a child of the Father is knowing Him. Meanwhile, we need to understand the roots of all sinful desires, which are often planted in us by society and others, and destroy the unbelieving world within us from the ground up.

The word translated “know” in the verse is the Greek ginosko, meaning “to learn or come to know, get a knowledge from perceive or feel, or to become known.” Apostle John pointed out that the world must first know the Father to truly know believers. This suggests that the substance of every believer’s life — how to live out the qualities of God’s child in daily life — must be drawn from knowing Him. It also means that understanding others cannot be based on appearances or surface impressions; accurate knowledge of people comes only through the Father’s guidance. Finally, the focus of this year’s devotionals is to unfold the many dimensions of what it means to be a child of God — including who He is, the truths we need to know after coming to faith, and several aspects of life transformation.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you find that your pursuit of life’s goals differs significantly from that of unbelievers around you? If so, what accounts for that difference?

2) Between knowing God more deeply and dealing with your own sinful desires, which feels more urgent to you right now? Are there any mature believers around you who can help you?