Focus

Focus

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross..."
Hebrews 12:1

Taking pictures in the Philippines opened my eyes to something I had never previously thought about, the need to constantly re-focus our eyes on the Lord. Using my Canon Power Shot A710IS 7.1 Mega Pixels 6X Optical Zoom Digital Camera does not require me to focus the camera when taking a picture. Like most modern cameras, it comes equipped with autofocus, a feature that results in much clearer and crisp pictures of moments and scenes that we want to capture.

Many of the previous generation of SLR 35mm cameras, however, required that the lens be refocused for each and every picture, a process that was a little slower but resulted in much better pictures. But even with autofocus, the new digital cameras have to refocus before each picture, doing it so fast that we cannot even notice at times. In the busyness of life, with all its' daily pressures and demands for our attention, it is very easy to lose our focus and, as a result, make choices and adopt attitudes that are not what our heart really desires.

The question we have to ask is how many of our frustrations, attitude problems and struggles in life are the result of our being out of focus spiritually. We've all taken pictures that are out of focus, blurry images of faces and events we had hoped to have a memory of. The same thing can happen in our spiritual lives, a lack of focus the result of no fault of our own, the natural outcomes of busy lives and hectic schedules.

The encouragement of Hebrews is to fix our eyes on Jesus. The danger comes in thinking that it is a one time decision rather than a constant routine of refocusing and realigning our lives so that our desires and goals match our actions and attitudes. Paul had to write to the Colossian Church and encourage them, mature believers in Christ, to "set your affections on things above, not on the things of the world". And there is no indication that the problem was sin or rebellion-it is a natural process of deterioration that we must recognize and compensate for in daily living.

We each face a different set of pressures and demands in life. We each will probably need to develop a different routine for refocusing our lives on the Lord and on the values that, in times of peace and rest, we have decided to live by. But let's make it our goal to live focused lives, with our eyes fixed on Jesus and His plans for our lives.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church