November 16, 2016 FIXING OUR EYES
Hebrews 12:2: “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who far the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”
There is much today that would cause us take our eyes off of Jesus. We live in what seems to be a complex and complicated world that would demand our constant attention and our best effort in order to survive. The ‘here and now’, the pressures and demands of the day, can easily cause us to lose our focus on what is truly important-the things of God, or the Kingdom of God. Somehow, we may fail to make the connection of what’s taking place around us with the much bigger picture of the plans and purposes of God, and if we fail to make this connection, we will indeed “grow weary and lose heart.” Before the days of modern GPS navigation, the captain of the ship could not afford to be focused on the storm and the turbulent waters, but had to be focused on the lighthouse that would bring the ship to safety; as believers, if we are to live life the way God designed, we must be focused on Jesus and not on the world around us. We do live in the world and we are not excused from taking our place in the day to day affairs of living in the world, but by being focused on Jesus and His kingdom, we are overcomers in life instead of being overcome by life. If we see life as one thing and the kingdom of God as something else, and fail to see that the Kingdom of God in us is what empowers us to live as we are designed to live, our world view will become skewed. As the children of God who have been redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, we should filter the events of life through the unchanging reality of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is real, and Jesus came in order to demonstrate the kingdom, and not only to demonstrate the kingdom, but to introduce the kingdom as a way of life to those who would believe in Him as the Son of God. Jesus knew that He must suffer death on the cross, but He endured the suffering because He could foresee the joy that would come as a result of His brothers and sisters being restored to the Father. Just as Jesus knew that joy would come because of the suffering He must endure, we too can anticipate joy when we endure any suffering because of our faith in Christ. We can experience joy in this life, but what joy we experience now will not compare to the joy that will be ours when we are united with Him for all eternity. Jesus has already “set down at the right hand of the throne of God,” signifying that He has finished His work of redemption, and now, by “fixing our eyes on Jesus,” we can anticipate the joy that will be ours at His appearing.
Psalm 16:8: “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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