The other day, the Lord reminded me of my need to focus. Not merely to focus on the tasks I needed to complete, but to focus on Him. For me, some days are rife with spiritual advances and Spirit-filled faith, living. Other days have the semblance of the Christian life but are also marred by my sin and failures. This day was of the latter variety but with a most welcome twist: I experienced the sweetness of God’s restoration. It was as though I heard, clear as a summer day, “Look to Me.” Those three words reverberated throughout the day, but little did I know, they would continue to echo in my heart daily for several weeks. Immediately, I considered the passage in Hebrews which articulates this point most directly:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV (Emphasis mine)
Notice, the author of Hebrews isn’t using an imperative (command) for disciples to look to Jesus, but the writing has the force of a command. If we are to “run with endurance the race,” then we must do so while “looking to Jesus” (the word for “look” is a participle in the present tense, which communicates an “-ing” ongoing action, hence, “looking”). During this race, Jesus is more important than everything (this includes the witnesses mentioned in the same passage, which likely point to those heroes of the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11.)
The message is clear: we run the race—i.e., live out our lives as Christ directs for His followers—all while gazing upon Jesus, not taking our eyes off Him. He is the prize. He is the goal. He is the focus. He is the very reason we run. I’m not sure what marathon runners focus on when they’re running, but they have to have something. They need something to focus on when running such a long distance or they’ll likely focus on the pain, the inconvenience of it, the need for water, and all the other reasons to stop running. Yet, we don’t need to find a focus for our Christian life marathon; it’s been chosen for us. We focus on Jesus, the One who called us and rescued us from sin and its penalty. Saints, I implore you, look to Him.
