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do what Daddy wants

1 John 2:12-17 (JDV)

1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, since your failures have been forgiven on account of his name.
1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.
1 John 2:14 I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word stays in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
1 John 2:15 Do not care about the world or the things in the world. If anyone cares about the world, the care of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:16 For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father but is from the world.
1 John 2:17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does what God wants stays permanently.

do what Daddy wants

John is writing to the whole church — not a building but all believers. They are described as groups at different stages of spiritual development, but they all have the same problem. They are all being tempted to be distracted by focus on temporary things — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in their possessions.

The solution to this problem is the care of the Father. It is both subjective and objective. It is God’s care for us, and our care for Him. It is caring enough for God to imitate him by obeying his commands. That is one of the earliest lessons a young child gets: do what Daddy wants.

The desire to focus on those temporary things is just as temporary as they are. We must learn to look past those things which are passing away, and focus on the voice of our Daddy, doing what He wants.