“… And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
(Hebrews 12:1–2, NLT)
(Hebrews 12:1–2, NLT)
In the meditational, Embracing Eternity, the authors included a sweet story of a conversation between a young girl and her father. Her father relayed the conversation with these words:
“LAST NIGHT my ten-year-old daughter was practicing ballet in the den while I was in a chair reading. She was jumping and running and doing pirouettes with grace. At one point I looked up to see her standing on one side of the room with her gazed fixed on the far wall. Then she began moving toward it with a series of twirls and steps, each time trying to keep her head facing forward. Her body would circle, but her eyes remained focused toward the wall. It was a typical ballerina’s dance. “Do they teach you to do that because it looks pretty?” I asked her.
“No,” she answered. “It’s because it keeps you in a straight line and also keeps you from getting dizzy.” Then she excitedly demonstrated the move again. “What you do is pick out a spot on the wall and focus on it. That keeps you from stumbling or getting out of line. If you don’t have something to aim at, you get dizzy and you might fall.” (LaHaye, Jenkins, and Martin, p. 48).
In order to accomplish her twirl, the young ballerina needed to put her focus on one spot of wall. If she lost focus on that spot, she would lose her balance and stumble. The young girl was taught that it was practically impossible to do that type of twirl without focus. It was only accomplished through concentration and focus.
There are many aspects of your spiritual life that will require concentration and focus. If you lose that focus, you will falter and fail. You can’t be faithful long-term without placing your focus and intent on Jesus, for example.
When planning to travel in his boat through a stretch of water with dangerous reefs and rocky outcroppings on either side, the captain of the boat resolved to follow the best course. He put up to date maps on his GPS and intended to follow the maps precisely. The maps showed every reef and shoal and outcropping of rocks. He knew for sure his plan was perfect.
The next day, he piloted the boat into that waterway. The wind was up and the waves were pretty strong. Still, he had the computerized map before him and the GPS to guide him. As he motored along, his best friend came into the wheelhouse and watched him for a while. After a few hundred yards, his best friend said, “Why are you weaving so much, back and forth like that?”
The captain said, “I’m going perfectly straight on the map!”
His best friend then showed him that when you zoomed in on the map, the boat had indeed been zigzagging. It’s just that the map had been zoomed out so far that the captain had not realized it. The best friend then told the captain, “See that house off the bow? Head toward that and don’t waver. That will be your anchor point.” The captain did precisely that and noticed that by focusing his attention and the bow on the distant house, his path on the GPS naturally became straighter and more predictable. All the while, he was able to navigate through the shoals and outcroppings with ease.
Focusing on important things in life can keep you on the straight and narrow. If you focus your attention on Jesus, your life will keep a holy perspective. Your values will remain in line with godliness, and many things will just simply fall into place. If you lose that focus on Jesus… if your attention drifts from one worldly fad to another or one spiritual high to the next, your spiritual life will fall apart. Jesus needs to be your focus. He needs to be your anchor point.
“The Christian walk is a path that Jesus has laid out for us—a race for the prize. And any good track coach knows that in order to run fast and straight, you have to stay focused on the finish line. Runners who fall behind or stumble are those who get distracted or glance over their shoulders. They are the ones who lose their focus.
So how do we keep from stumbling in our Christian walk? How do we keep from falling into sin and getting distracted by guilt and shame and remorse? We “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV).” (Embracing Eternity, p. 48).
What in life tends to pull your focus away from Jesus? What brings you back? Some people fast weekly or monthly to keep focused on Jesus. Some take time every day to pray. Many are active in Bible Studies and small group programs so to keep their focus on Jesus from week to week. Most worship regularly, do mission work, and keep regular in their Bible reading… all to keep a constant focus on Jesus. How about you? Is it difficult to keep your eyes upon Jesus?
“LAST NIGHT my ten-year-old daughter was practicing ballet in the den while I was in a chair reading. She was jumping and running and doing pirouettes with grace. At one point I looked up to see her standing on one side of the room with her gazed fixed on the far wall. Then she began moving toward it with a series of twirls and steps, each time trying to keep her head facing forward. Her body would circle, but her eyes remained focused toward the wall. It was a typical ballerina’s dance. “Do they teach you to do that because it looks pretty?” I asked her.
“No,” she answered. “It’s because it keeps you in a straight line and also keeps you from getting dizzy.” Then she excitedly demonstrated the move again. “What you do is pick out a spot on the wall and focus on it. That keeps you from stumbling or getting out of line. If you don’t have something to aim at, you get dizzy and you might fall.” (LaHaye, Jenkins, and Martin, p. 48).
In order to accomplish her twirl, the young ballerina needed to put her focus on one spot of wall. If she lost focus on that spot, she would lose her balance and stumble. The young girl was taught that it was practically impossible to do that type of twirl without focus. It was only accomplished through concentration and focus.
There are many aspects of your spiritual life that will require concentration and focus. If you lose that focus, you will falter and fail. You can’t be faithful long-term without placing your focus and intent on Jesus, for example.
When planning to travel in his boat through a stretch of water with dangerous reefs and rocky outcroppings on either side, the captain of the boat resolved to follow the best course. He put up to date maps on his GPS and intended to follow the maps precisely. The maps showed every reef and shoal and outcropping of rocks. He knew for sure his plan was perfect.
The next day, he piloted the boat into that waterway. The wind was up and the waves were pretty strong. Still, he had the computerized map before him and the GPS to guide him. As he motored along, his best friend came into the wheelhouse and watched him for a while. After a few hundred yards, his best friend said, “Why are you weaving so much, back and forth like that?”
The captain said, “I’m going perfectly straight on the map!”
His best friend then showed him that when you zoomed in on the map, the boat had indeed been zigzagging. It’s just that the map had been zoomed out so far that the captain had not realized it. The best friend then told the captain, “See that house off the bow? Head toward that and don’t waver. That will be your anchor point.” The captain did precisely that and noticed that by focusing his attention and the bow on the distant house, his path on the GPS naturally became straighter and more predictable. All the while, he was able to navigate through the shoals and outcroppings with ease.
Focusing on important things in life can keep you on the straight and narrow. If you focus your attention on Jesus, your life will keep a holy perspective. Your values will remain in line with godliness, and many things will just simply fall into place. If you lose that focus on Jesus… if your attention drifts from one worldly fad to another or one spiritual high to the next, your spiritual life will fall apart. Jesus needs to be your focus. He needs to be your anchor point.
“The Christian walk is a path that Jesus has laid out for us—a race for the prize. And any good track coach knows that in order to run fast and straight, you have to stay focused on the finish line. Runners who fall behind or stumble are those who get distracted or glance over their shoulders. They are the ones who lose their focus.
So how do we keep from stumbling in our Christian walk? How do we keep from falling into sin and getting distracted by guilt and shame and remorse? We “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV).” (Embracing Eternity, p. 48).
What in life tends to pull your focus away from Jesus? What brings you back? Some people fast weekly or monthly to keep focused on Jesus. Some take time every day to pray. Many are active in Bible Studies and small group programs so to keep their focus on Jesus from week to week. Most worship regularly, do mission work, and keep regular in their Bible reading… all to keep a constant focus on Jesus. How about you? Is it difficult to keep your eyes upon Jesus?