Fixing Your Eyes on Jesus

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:20 NASB)

The Son of God read the Scripture, closed the scroll, and sat down. Surely it was the most authoritative reading they had ever heard. They could tell something was about to happen, and they didn't want to miss a thing. No one was looking around. No one was fidgeting that day.  Their eyes were fixed on Jesus. What a wonderful place to fix your sight!

It reminds me of that old chorus by Helen Lemmel:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace."

Her inspiration was Hebrews 12:2, in which the writer encouraged his readers to "... run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus..." (Hebrews 12:1, 2 NASB)

That's exactly right, isn't it?  The way to live the kind of life that pleases God is to "fix our eyes on Jesus" rather than all the things this world offers, and "run with endurance". Don't give up, no matter what happens or who disappoints you. Keep going. 

Interestingly, there is nothing in Hebrews about plodding reluctantly along. The word here is RUN. it's wide open, give it all you've got, running. This is the running that gives a huge adrenaline rush after you've run a while. It kicks in, feels so good that you never want to stop, and helps you make it to the finish line in a race. Run.  Run to Jesus.  

Pray today that we and our loved ones will get our eyes off the stuff of this world, fix our eyes on Jesus, and run with everything in our being straight to Him.