Overcome the World (1 John 4:4)

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

We often try to shield our children from the world because the world is a scary place, is it not? Day by day, we experience its horrors with untold repetition through all sorts of media, but how much scarier is the world for a young Christian? We do not see the world from afar as through a looking glass; we know it personally. We have pranced in its shadows, danced in its darkness, and partnered with the very prince of this world. We know how scary a place this world is, and how allied it is against us. To make matters worse, every Christian knows how unable they are to withstand such onslaughts. Our strength is gone, and a traitor lives within our breast. How can we stand in this world?

We must depend upon Him who is in us, for He has overcome the world (Jn. 16:33). Whereas fathers step between their children and ensuing harm, Christ does more. He overcomes the world for us. What greater comfort can we have? No longer must we be frantic and fearful as little children against impossible odds, no longer must we anxiously toil as adversaries approach. Instead of raising our fists in endless combat, we can raise them to receive the sweet victory found in Jesus. We can find quiet and peaceful repose in Him who has overcome the world. As Calvin says, “When anyone realizes that in himself he is nothing and from himself he has no help, the weapons within him are broken, the wars are over. But all the weapons of impiety must be shattered, broken, and burned; you must remain unarmed, you must have no help in yourself. The weaker you are in yourself, the more readily the Lord will receive you.”