Eyes Ever Upward

“Then let me boast with holy Paul that I am nothing and Christ is all.”

John Newton

There are a lot of distractions in our world today, including Instagram, Facebook, movies, and television. Although these activities are not inherently sinful, they easily distract us from greater things. All too often, we give in to them when they demand our attention. These types of distractions are pretty easy to identify and resolve. However, some activities are extremely difficult to identify as distractions. This year I am entering my final year of high school. Because of this, I have a lot of things that need to get done: studying for the ACT, applying for colleges, deciding what classes I am taking for my final year, and getting ready for a new debate season. These are all important tasks that I need to accomplish. However, if I spend too much time thinking about them, I start to grow anxious and lose sight of what is truly important. This anxiety — the kind that starts when you feel life getting crazy — stems from 3 root problems: losing sight of what is above, reliance on self, and short-sightedness.

As Christians, we should set our eyes on what is above. I do not mean that you should walk around with your head tilted to the skies looking at the clouds. Rather, we should turn our minds on what is above. Colossians 3:1-2 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” This means that no matter what we are doing, our thoughts should be fixed on Christ. This should be a constant, everyday occurrence, not just a Sunday morning activity. Christ’s glory deserves more than 15% of our time in a week. Our goal should be to saturate our lives with the worship and glory of Christ. In other words, our eyes should be ever fixed on Him.

For over 10 years of my life, I swam competitively and competed on multiple swim teams. One of the skills you learn in swimming is holding your head still while keeping your eyes fixed on the bottom of the pool. We would often balance plastic cups our head help us while we swam. The key to this drill was never letting your eyes off the black line in the pool. If you did, your cup would most likely fall. This is how we should think of our time with God. Never should our eyes stray from God’s glory, lest we fall. All too often, Christians lose sight of God’s glory and sovereignty in their lives. This leads us to the root of the issue: our reliance on self.

I must admit that I am guilty of this too. We lose sight of what is above and start to think we can handle our lives by ourselves. Our selfishness can blind us from God’s sovereignty and cause us to fall. I believe the first sign of this downfall is anxiety. Mathew 6: 25-26 says,

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

If God cares for and protects birds, why should we ever doubt his sovereignty? This is how depraved our minds can be. We lose sight of God, look to earthly things (mankind), and instantly forget. Think about it like this. God’s grip and control over your life is so strong that even the fiercest natural disaster could never separate you from him, but because of our selfishness, we try to pull away and rely on our own abilities. What happens? Well, when we pull away we feel the magnitude of the storm and fear overtakes us. We only become calm again when we are back in the embrace of God’s loving hands.
Pulling away sounds insane, right? Well, to our depraved minds it is perfectly normal. Friends, we must discipline our minds and our hearts to follow God. If we don’t, our flesh will fail us. This leads us to my final point: shortsightedness.

Have you ever listened to the story of a great Christian Martyr and think to yourself, “Could I have done what he/she did? Could I stand the persecution and torture for the sake of Christ?” I can tell you I have thought about this a lot. Recently, I have been going through a study of Hebrews 11. This chapter, often called “the Hall of Faith,” tells the story of the great men and women in the old and new testaments who displayed great acts of faith despite hardship. Hebrews 11:1-2 explains their faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” The faith that these men had was in things that were yet to come. Even though their lives were hard at the time, they knew that there was a higher calling. They relied on the promise of Christ to preserve them through the trouble.

Christians today still need to follow this example. When you are in pain or anxious about anything, don’t look at the present. Instead, fully rely on the promises of the future. While the believers of old held to the promise of Christ’s first coming, we must look to Christ coming again with the new heavens and the new Earth. This gives us something to hold on to and keep our eyes upon. The second coming of Christ is far greater than anything else we could ever want. Even though we may not see it, God is working out his plan. Resting in that knowledge, we should never be anxious.

In conclusion, I want to encourage you all to study Hebrews. Most of what I said here stems from my own study and discussion of these truths with other men at my Church. It is an ocean of truth that deserves exploration!