The Right Focus
“Let’s strip off every weight that slows us
down and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.” Hebrews 12:1,2
Warren Buffet, the multi-billionaire
philanthropist was once being interviewed. The reporter asked him, “Now that you are one of the richest men in
the world, what is your next goal?”
He said, “Now I want to be one of
the oldest men in the world.” With
many of his life’s goals reached, he was now focusing on the length of his
tenure on earth.
Though I’ve never run a marathon, anybody
who has run one or any long distance run knows the importance of mental focus. On a
long run if you let your mind start to wander and you don’t keep it focused,
all kinds of bad things are going to happen.
You’re going to start thinking about how tired you are. You’re going to start thinking about how much
your muscles ache. You’re going to start
thinking about how much farther you still have to go. You’re going to start thinking about where
are the other runners in this race and
you start comparing yourself.
All of those are fatal flaws that will sidetrack you or trip you up and
cause you to fall out of the race or get behind. You need to stay focused. Focused on eternity.
Life’s Timeline
Overview has been described in 5 “E” stages:
1. Entrance: Everyone of us is born into this
world
The prophet writes the words of God, “Before you were born, I knew you.”
(Jeremiah
1:5) God puts us on this planet for a reason and He wants to direct us to a close relationship with Him as
Jeremiah described his birth as directed by God .
2. Expectation: You begin to dream about what
your life might be
During high school and young adult years, we
develop dreams and hopes
for what life will become. These
areas include jobs, marriage, children, and
desires both fulfilled and unfulfilled.
3. Execution: 40 plus years window where we
begin to pursue our
lives
Generally,
through this window of life, marriage choices are made, career
choices
are pursued, and the average person will have 13 different careers in
three
fields.
4. Evaluation- This is a later in life where we
find that more of life is
behind us than in front of us and we start to wonder if we made the
right choices.
5. Eternity- The fifth and final stage is the
path of eternity.
It’s accorded unto man to die once and then the judgment when we will
one
day stand before the Lord and answer two questions…first, what did you
do
with Christ? And two, what did you do with your talents, treasures and
time?
While this life has
much to offer, it is nothing in comparison to the life to come. We must learn
to live in the light of eternity in order to receive the reward one day when we
finish well and hear God say, “Well done.” What are we to focus on instead of
our success and all these other things?
The author of
Hebrews “Let’s strip off every weight
that slows us down and let us run with endurance the race that God has set
before us. We do this by keeping our
eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends
from start to finish.” (Hebrews
12:1,2)
In order to have a life that is focused on
eternity, you must never lose track of the finish line. First, you must continue to focus on Jesus Christ and how He lived as He
focused His full heart on pleasing the Father.
What He as begun in you, He is able to complete. (Philippians 1:6) Second, you focus on the inevitable rewards
that are going to come when you cross the finish line and go into heaven and
God is there. Whether that day is sooner
or later, you will find pursuing Him is truly life-changing.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) When are you most prone to take your eyes
off the finish line?
2) Thank God today for the strength He wants to
give you to finish the course.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
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