February 15 – Vol. 30 No. 06
Fix Your Attention on God
A lot is going on in the world these days. Surprise! I bet you did not know that. We wonder what is going on in the world. With a simple push of a button, you can receive multiple suggestions about who you should be and how you should live your life. There are days when I am overwhelmed by the life-choice proposals.
Paul spent the first eleven chapters of Romans explaining that the most important decision in life is our response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, in the first 2 verses of Chapter 12, he explains how and why we should make that decision.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and respond quickly. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Ro 12:1–2.)
First, fix your eyes on God. Considering all that God has done for us, keep your eyes on Him and give Him your full attention and energy. Let His work and the gift of His Son for our salvation consume us. (This sounds a little like Hebrews 12.) Then, He explains why.
Fixing our attention on God’s grace and mercy can help clear our thinking and drown out other voices and options.
Fixing our attention on God can help us recognize when we become too comfortable with the culture we live in. It is easy for us to fall into old habits and drift into new ones.
Fixing our attention on God can help us readily understand what He wants from us and respond quickly. Maybe it is not as difficult as we think.
As we go through the days ahead, let’s remember to intentionally fix our attention on God, trusting that His guidance brings clarity and peace amidst the noise and distractions of life. By keeping our focus on Him, we allow His love and wisdom to shape our decisions and nurture our hearts. May you find encouragement and strength as you embrace this perspective throughout the week.
I love you.
Tom
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