Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. –Hebrews 12:2
There’s a hymn titled “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” It was written by Helen Lemmel whose life spanned almost a century (1863-1961). The hymn’s refrain goes like this:
Turn your eyes
upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
The hymn has stood the test of time and life. Listen to a modern interpretation by popstar and Christian recording artist Lauren Daigle. Her beautiful version is found here. (Pam Tillis and Johnny Cash have a wonderful duet too!)
But the song, it’s timelessness, the words of scripture from Hebrews 12 and life remind me of the pressing need to keep our eyes on Jesus—that the distractions of the world are apt to redirect our attention away from all that is good and true to all that which gives birth to fear and uncertainty.
A great example of this is the apostle Peter in Matthew 14. Peter is out in the middle of the lake with the other disciples. Suddenly, they see Christ walking across the water towards them so Peter steps out of the boat to go to Jesus. As soon as he reaches him, however, he gets distracted by the wind and waves. Peter begins to sink, crying out in desperation, “Lord, save me!”
We may think the example is extreme. The setting is, that’s for sure, but Peter’s story is relatable to us. There have been and will be times that the wind and waves of life are so rough that even though Jesus is right here with us, we turn our eyes away from him, losing sight of the security and power we have in him. We cry out, “Lord, save me!”
Granted, sometimes, life is awful. Let’s be real. Unexpected death or sudden loss of a job. A diagnosis with poor prognosis. War. Famine. Climate change. You name it. What you may have experienced or are experiencing now is significant and cannot be discounted. The effects of sin are all too real. We mourn with one another and cry out, “Lord, save us!”
So, what are we to do? Turn our eyes to Jesus. Fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith. Turn our gaze to the one who does not turn his face from us so that we will know the forgiveness of sins and the power of the resurrection in our life, right here and right now. We turn our eyes to Jesus, so even during the storm, our minds and hearts are re-directed away from that which might “drown” us to the one who has saved us.
Think about it this way, differently than described above. Here’s a simple exercise to help you discover where your focus is: think about what good thing you are turning into the ultimate thing. Whatever it is, we call this an idol.
If you’re seeking after a job (a good thing) and believing that the job will make you happy and solve all your problems (the ultimate thing your really after), you’ve taken your eyes off Jesus and made a new job an idol. Try the exercise. We so often think it’s the bad things which distract us, but so too do the good things. What good thing are you making an ultimate thing in your life, keeping your from being fixed on Christ?
This Lenten season, which begins Wednesday, February 26th, we start a series titled “Eyes on Jesus.” Our goal is to give you Jesus and then give you some helpful exercises to stay focused. Beginning with our first service on Ash Wednesday, you’ll leave the Church with a challenge. Each subsequent week, we’ll give you an additional one. Try one or try them all—whatever helps you keep your eyes on Christ! So, join us and learn more about what it means to turn your eyes upon Jesus, for today, and for all eternity.
In Jesus’ name!
Pastor Tom Zucconi
