A Strong Focal Point

As I’m getting older, I’m starting to realize the importance of focus.  I believe that the things we focus on will begin to shape the way that we experience life, but I want to clarify what I mean by that before I continue.

Some people think that you can create a “vision board” in order to attain the things you focus on.  They assume that people can get everything they want with enough focus.  I guess it’s a belief that some sort of “universal power” or “mystical god” is going to grant wishes to people who try hard enough.  To be clear, that’s not what I believe happens when you focus on something.  I think there is truth in attaining what you focus on, but it’s an internal acquisition, not an external one.

I believe that your focus will shape the way you perceive reality, because only God can actually shape or create reality.   I do, however, believe that our perception of reality is nearly as important as reality itself.  For example: I believe that if you focus on positive things, you will see the world with optimism and hope.  Optimistic people see the silver lining in rainy days, while cynical people believe that rain ruined their day. 

There are some who hate those “eternally happy” people, but think about it; would you rather be joyful, or cynical?  Sure, optimistic people might be tricked or fooled at times, but they also experience a lot of things that cynical people will miss.  Above and beyond that, optimistic people will risk failure, because they know that failure is the best teacher.

Even though I realize the importance of focus, I fail to heed my own advice at times.  The biggest example of that is in my relationship with God.

This past week, my pastor and I were talking about preaching in a way that uses positive reinforcement verses negative reinforcement or punishment.  We discovered that sometimes people spend so much time focusing on “fire and brimstone” that they find themselves running away from hell versus running towards God.  I was one of those people growing up, and it caused a lot of frustration in my life.

I’ve realized that running from hell will leave us with a defeatist mentality.  I didn’t experience joy in being a Christian, instead, church was an activity that I did in order to gain points.  I became a “check-the-box” Christian, who had a list of things that needed to be done in order to avoid hell and get into heaven.  Eventually, that list started to diminish, and I found a way to justify every sin imaginable.  It became easy to say a quick prayer asking for forgiveness whether or not I actually wanted forgiveness.  I found that my heart was getting colder every year, but after I realized that my focus was off, I looked for something new to focus on. 

I knew that I needed to run towards something, but I didn’t really know what it was.  I decided to run towards heaven, which meant focusing on gold streets and crowns instead of God and other people.  That's selfish, but it’s easy for Christians to do.  Sometimes we focus on the "fruit of the Spirit" (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control) instead of focusing on God.  I’m starting to realize that the problem with focusing on the "fruit of the Spirit" is that you wind up frustrated again.

In my case, joy and peace are the “fruits of the Spirit” that I focus on.  That focus causes me to quit when life gets hard.  I quit all sorts of things like: relationships, responsibilities, goals, etc.  In my experience, relationships are great at first, because it's exciting to discover the “newness” of the other person, or the special feelings of someone who wants to be around you, or even the fact that both of you are willing to make unrealistic promises that you can't keep.  Those feelings change after being around the other person for a year or two, though, because eventually the newness wears off and conflict sets in.  When you are running towards joy and peace, you find yourself quitting a relationship once you enter into the conflict stage.  Breaking the relationship doesn’t provide joy and peace though, so you look for a new relationship with the same results.

I believe that joy and peace will elude us if we focus on them alone.  We will start more relationships and set new goals, but we will only achieve happiness for a short period of time.  Eventually we find ourselves living a lie, and feeling miserable.  I know from first-hand experience.

Focus is important, and many times I get it wrong.  Sometimes I only focus on the benefits of being a Christian, and tell my friends to focus on them as well.  My intention is to present the attractiveness of a relationship with God, but it’s almost as though I’m encouraging others to run towards the “fruit of the Spirit” instead of running towards God, Himself.  That is a bad thing, because it’s easy for people to get tricked into thinking that the Christian life is pain free or that our feelings are more important than God’s feelings.  There are a ton of benefits to being a Christian, but the greatest benefit is having a relationship with God.  Every relationship, though, has hardships, and it’s foolish to enter a relationship thinking it’s going to be easy. 

My hope is that we focus on running towards Jesus instead of running away from something or running towards anything else.  We will eventually find peace and joy if we run towards Him, but we will find neither if we don’t.

My Life's Mission

One day I was watching the movie Zombieland with my buddy, and he asked whether I would want to be in a “zombie apocalypse.”  I thought about it for a second, and realized I probably wouldn’t want to.  At first I thought it would be nice to have the time and freedom to do whatever I wanted.  I mean, I wouldn’t have to work, I wouldn't have to wait in lines, and I wouldn't have to obey the speed limit. It seemed like the early retirement I was always looking for, but then I realized that would get bored after a while.  I would have no purpose, no goals, and no direction.  In my opinion, zombie apocalypse seems futile.

My buddy had just the opposite reaction though, he thought a zombie apocalypse would be extremely fulfilling.  He told me that he would drive to different cities, rid the world of zombies, and try to find people to save.  The people would then work together to build a new world.  Ultimately, he was telling me that he would have a mission in life.

As he was telling me his perspective on zombie apocalypse, I realize that I live in zombie apocalypse right now!

I know this sounds a bit weird, but listen to what Ephesians 2:1-5 says about the world:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

The bible says that people are dead if they follow their evil desires.  This is because God has created us to be in a relationship with Him, and because God is perfectly good, we are separated from Him if we do evil things.  We have all done evil, but thankfully God came to earth (as Jesus) and made a way for us.  The bible says that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, or in other words; Jesus is the way we come into a relationship with God, Jesus’ words about God are true, and life is found only when we are in relationship with God.  People who aren’t in relationship with God are living without life.

This passage also shows that God brought us from death to life, but how does that happen?

Romans 10:9-10 says:

“If you declare with your mouth, that “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”  

I believe that there comes a point in everyone's life when they realize that they are sinful, and that their sin has separated them from God.  Once that happens, people are brought from death to life if they submit to Jesus as a living Lord and savior.  That life that starts immediately and continues into eternity: they will live forever with God. 

So Christians are blessed to be alive, but it doesn’t stop there.  We were also given a mission and purpose in this life, just like friend thought that zombie apocalypse would provide him.

This is what 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 says:

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

I realize that I’m a new person who has been given life.  With that life, I’ve also been given a mission to tell people that God wants to do the same for them!  Do you believe that?  Are you ready to receive the gift of life and a new mission from God?  Then admit your sin, thank Him for His mercy, and ask Him to give you a new life.

The Gift of Responsbility

Last weekend I had a great talk with a father about parenting.  The father told me that one morning he woke up, and told his son that he would teach him how to ride a bike when he got home from work.   When the father got home though, the son was already riding his bike!  The father said he was surprised, so asked his son how he learned how to ride.  The son said that the neighbor taught him. 

This upset the father, because he felt like the responsibility of helping his son learn this important new task was stolen from him.  I was confused by this statement, and wondered how a neighbor’s “random act of kindness” could be considered an act of theft.  I don’t have kids, so be honest, I thought this man was just being childish.

I explained to the guy that I didn’t understand why he was so upset, and in my opinion, the neighbor did something nice for him.  The father patiently explained to me that he had been looking forward to teaching his son how to ride a bike, but now that would be impossible.  The father was sad, because he realized that he and his son would never share the memory of his son’s first bike ride.  He also realized that he wouldn’t earn the trust of helping his son accomplish the goal of riding a bike.   In essence, the father said that responsibility brings about fulfillment and satisfaction, but he wouldn’t have that fulfillment of carrying out his responsibility. 

That statement really amazed me, so I spent some time thinking about it.  I realized it was true, and realized two things about responsibility:

1. When you neglect the responsibility that you've been give, you are actually missing out on joy that God wants to give you.
2. Christians are the most blessed people in the world.

I always thought responsibility was a pathway to hard work instead of a pathway to joy.  Although I had to work, I thought the point of working was to save up enough money so I could retire to a Caribbean beach and sip margaritas.  In fact, I thought the pathway to joy was by seeking comfort and irresponsibility.

Even though I used to complain about my job, I always enjoyed having one.  Why is that?  I think it’s because there is fulfillment in work, and I believe that because of what the bible says.

Read this from Ecclesiastes 5:

18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. 19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

It is evident that work carries the weight of responsibility, but from what I understand from Ecclesiastes; work is good, and to enjoy it is a gift from God.  If work is a good, then why don’t we enjoy it?  Sometimes it’s because we have a twisted view on what it means to work and how to work, and sometimes it’s because we aren’t asking God to teach and empower us to enjoy our work.  Maybe we feel pressured to live up to unrealistic expectations that we or someone else places upon us.  Maybe we are trying to become rich at the expense of our values and morals.  Maybe we haven’t asked God to help us find peace in our circumstances. I’ve found all of these things to be true in my own life.  With this said, I encourage you to examine the reasons behind any current discontentment in your work before you labor work or responsibility as a curse.

So, I believe that responsibility brings about fulfillment, because of 3 things:

1. My experience
2. The experience that others
3. And ultimately because I believe the bible says it as well. 

And that realization (the realization that responsibility brings fulfillment) acts as a base for my statement that Christians are the most blessed people in the world.  In my next point I’m going to talk about how I came to that conclusion while watching a zombie movie with my friend, but until then, I hope we can see joy in our work.  As for me, I know that I need to be reminded that it’s a privilege from God.