Week 19 - Fixing My Eyes

On this Father’s Day I sit recognizing that I have been fixing my eyes on a lot of things lately, but Christ is not one of them.

It’s so easy, so tempting to be overwhelmed by life. There is always something pressing, always something that needs to be done. There is the obsession with the past, anxiety about the future. All of this brings with it an element of “fixation”- an intent or obsessive focus or concentration on something. The problem is that those things we tend to obsess over cannot save us, and frequently are of no eternal value whatsoever.

For example, I want the nursery to look a particular way. I’ve had dreams of this time. But at the end of the day, the child could care less about what paint color, crib, dresser and décor I choose. And, if I’m honest, that’s more for me and the “oh’s and ah’s” that I seek. Do these things matter? To some extent, I suppose. But should I be obsessively focused on it. No. Is it worth disagreements with my husband, anxiety and debt? Absolutely not.

See, we have it twisted. In so many instances we give far more attention to the “stuff “that we place a child in – crib, clothes, shoes, etc., and far too little attention to the “stuff” we place in a child – introduction to the things of Christ, character, discipline. The truth is, it’s a reflection of our own lives. We can only model what we believe to be true. Our fixations betray our hearts. They reveal what we truly believe about what protects us, provides for us, and gives us value.

What do you spend most of your time concentrating on? Obsessing over? Your health? Your finances? Possessions? Job? Home? Family? (yes, family). None of these things belong to us anyway, they are on loan, and we are simply those who have been assigned to care for them temporarily. They are not what define us. Christ does. Christ has.

So why not fix our eyes on the one who owns it all?

“Fix your eyes on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2