Very early in the cruise, God drew me back to a biblical passage that played a critical role in my formative high school and young adult years – 1 John 2:15-17. I meditated on the scripture and committed it once again to memory because it would be a key to resisting the temptations posed by the cruise. “Do not love the world or anything in the world...” The emphasis here is not on ‘the world’ as an enemy, but on ‘love’ as the posture of my heart. Do not love the world.... The problem is not that we are surrounded and bombarded by elements of the evil world system that militates against our love for God and devotion to him. The problem is in what we choose to love, where we set our affections. It is not a sin to enjoy for a short time good food and easy living and beautiful scenery. But to love these things and to set our affections on them is to betray the call of Christ and the passion of the Holy Spirit to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, to seek first the kingdom of God, and to set our hearts on things above. I heard the call of God to steer my heart away from the attractions of the world and not to give my heart to such things. Instead, he calls me to simply love him and to pursue the things of his kingdom, abandoning every competing affection. As I enjoyed the pleasure of eating a freshly cooked authentic Italian pizza late at night without having to think about payment (or a gourmet five/six-course meal at dinner), I can receive it as a gift and an expression of love from my heavenly Father, give him thanks, and set my affections on the great Giver of every good gift. We hold loosely to all that is in the world, and cling with all our might to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We remember that “The world and its desires are passing away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”