Focus – June 18, 2021

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

Focus

Where are your eyes fixed these days? Are they fixed on debt as you keep going over the financial statements wondering how you are going to make it? Maybe your eyes are focused on deadlines, as you worry and stress about whether you will be able to get everything done for everyone who has expectations of you. Perhaps your eyes keep staring at your phone, waiting for the doctor to call with the results from a recent test. So often, our eyes are focused on things that fill us with stress and anxiety. We pace the halls. We fill our minds with what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. And, of course, we have little or no control over any of it. These situations are temporary as our Bible reading today reminds us, but certainly, a new set of temporary troubles will come our way whenever the old ones are resolved.

There is a solution to this problem. That is, to fix our eyes on what is unseen. Namely, on Jesus and the heavenly home that he has waiting for us. Everything we face on earth is by nature temporary. But spiritual blessings in Christ are eternal. Because Jesus died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead, we have been given eternal life which far outweighs anything this life can throw at us.

But it is always easier to focus on the here and now than it is on things unseen. God invites and encourages us to lift our eyes to things above. To always have Jesus and his Word in our thoughts and our hearts. To think about and look forward to our heavenly home. To eagerly anticipate eternity with Jesus and all believers in heaven—a place where we will not pace the halls with worry or anxiety, but a place where we will live stress-free in perfect peace and joy. Fix your eyes on that!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for the heavenly home you have prepared for me. Help me to fix my eyes on things eternal. Amen.