Dear Disciple,
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest… And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 3:1, 12:1a-2
Another day of life in God’s big and beautiful world! Another day to live in fellowship with God and His children! Another day to walk with our Master Jesus and learn from Him! Today I want to simply invite you to fix your thoughts and eyes on Jesus. The writer of “Hebrews” was right to call us to this. It’s so simple, yet it can be so difficult sometimes. Fix your thoughts on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Him.
So much competes for your thoughts and your gaze, Disciple. You know that as well as I. Many of these things are good, important, and require our attention. (Of course, many of them are futile, petty, and meaningless, too.) So how can we do as we’re called to do in these verses?
Certainly, this is a part of the “strict training” that we are to be engaged in as disciples of Jesus. We must make real effort and choose purposefully to devote ourselves to the discipline of thinking carefully about our Master Jesus. We must turn our mind’s eye upon Him and let our thoughts be full of Him. (He fills the whole universe – see Ephesians 4:10 – so our minds aren’t too big to be filled by Him, right?)
Who is He? What has He done and said – and why? What delights Him and what disgusts Him? In what ways is He different than I, and in what ways are we similar? How is He different now than He was in His mortal life? How is He the same? What does He think of what’s happening in my life, my family, in my church, in my community, in my nation, and in the world?
The goodness, glory, wonder, wisdom, power, and love of our Master can increasingly abide in our minds and hearts as we purposefully take time and energy to think about Him. This will include reading, listening, and talking about Him. This will mean becoming familiar with the Scriptures that testify about Him so marvelously. This will mean learning and singing songs that celebrate Him. Find those in your life who also love to think and talk about Him and decide to do those very things together – perhaps over a meal, even some bread and wine. As you drive here and there, as you fold your laundry, as you prepare your next meal… let your mind gravitate to the greatness of Jesus.
Fix your thoughts on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Know that His thoughts and His eyes are on you as well. You, and each person you encounter today, are ever capturing His loving attention. So may your whole mind, heart, and spirit be transformed more into His likeness today, Disciple, as you decide to fix them squarely on Him.
Made full with you as we fill our thoughts with Him,Ryan