During my reading time recently, I came across a prayer that spoke the words I have been feeling deep in my heart: “Lord I pray that I will always keep my eyes on eternity and that the cares of this world will not distract me from my mission of serving You each day.” What a powerful and dangerous prayer! If we were to live our lives in this manner, we would appear to be quite “weird” in the eyes of our culture and would certainly alienate more than a few friends. What if we could cast off the cares of this world and concern ourselves only with the things of God’s Kingdom? If we could honestly pray that God would fix our eyes on Him and then really live that out, I think we would be amazed at what was possible.
As I write this, there’s a popular song out titled “Fix My Eyes” by the group “For King and Country”. You don’t have to be a fan of their music to appreciate the lyrical description of what a life fixated on God would look like:
I’d love like I’m not scared
Give when it’s not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall, but above it all
Fix my eyes on you
Too much of our time is spent living in fear: fear for our safety, fear of world events, fear of losing our job, fear of having enough money to retire, and the list goes on and on. All of these are symptomatic of having our eyes fixed on the wrong things. When we fix our eyes on Jesus we see nothing but His love for ourselves and the world around us. We know that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), so when we live in fear, we are not living in love. We need to alter our focus and fixate on Jesus.
When we are consumed with the love of God, that love will flow out of us and into everything and everyone that surrounds us. We will not care about what’s fair. We won’t concern ourselves with getting our share. Our only concern will be for loving and serving others just as Jesus did. Instead of making sure our needs are taken care of, we’ll begin to meet the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves. We’ll slow down our crazed and hurried lives and take the time to offer a smile or an ear to someone who is hurting. When we do these things, we will know our focus is correct, because apart from Jesus we can only live selfishly.
Where are you fixing your eyes? If you aren’t certain, take a look at what you are doing throughout the day. Are you working to fulfill yourself or someone else? Are you more concerned with earning than serving? Fixing our eyes on our own needs and desires will never bring more than a momentary satisfaction. In the end it will cost you your life. Fix your eyes on Jesus and live the life He modeled and intended for you. It will look crazy to your friends, but glorious to your God.