https://odb.org/2025/08/20/eyes-front
Hebrews 12:1–3 (NIV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Fixing our eyes on a stationary object like a pole definitely helps us focus, and thus, in learning how to ride a bicycle, it helps us keep our balance and pedal on. Similarly, in our Christian life, we will grow much in our faith if our focus is on Christ even as the world distracts us with its bright lights and various attractions.
Nowadays, with social media, we have windows into the world without needing to be present physically. We can see and hear things from all over the world from our living room on our TV and mobile phones. No doubt it is still 2-dimensional, and we miss out on the smell of the sea or the cold breeze blowing on our skin or the warm rays of the sun lightly skimming our faces.
At the personal level, we face temptations of the devil, chipping us away from the moral character Christ is moulding and building in us. Do we do the right thing, or will we compromise our standards and look the other way? Will we be a full-bodied believer facing Christ at the Bema Judgment Seat, or will we be a believer full of holes because of the various compromises we made while we were in the land of the living?
What does it really mean to focus on Christ? Look at Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Consider also John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
At the very core of our faith, practically, to focus or keep our eyes on Jesus is simply to apply His teachings in our lives. There are no two ways about it. Remember Psalm 119:105 His Word is the lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Or Psalm 1 as set out below:
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
At the end of the day, we need to go back to the Word and make it our life’s daily mission to read His Word persistently and consistently, and apply it willfully and faithfully in our daily interactions with others, in our thoughts and the things we do. Then, like the child learning how to ride a bicycle, we will pedal on and not fall!
Ronnie's Thoughts 