We've been talking about wisdom, and now it's time to talk about focus. I have to admit that I have other motives behind writing this particular article. It's just that focus is the topic we're talking about this coming Sunday, and writing this helps me to put things in a perspective which is eventually easier to express.
I believe in the truth that if you involve your senses more in expressing a particular idea, it is 'saved' in your mind and in your being more effectively. So that's another reason why I'm doing this. My eyes, my touch, and my speech (as, at times, I will be talking in sync with what I will be typing) are involved in the expression of this particular article.
So we're talking about focus. I have to admit that it's pretty hard to focus on talking about focus right now. There are so many things that I need to filter out.
But when I think about it, is it about filtering out what I need to think of, or is it all about just focusing on the right thing?
Many things are out there to divide our attention, if not to destroy or steal it completely. On a personal scale, my mind has questions: Is what I'm doing right now really what I should be doing for the rest of my life? Am I healthy; Is what I'm doing beneficial or detrimental to my health? How can I earn more money to be a blessing to others?
On a relational scale, I can think about Paola, what's going on with her and her family, our present situation and our future plans. I can think about my brothers, and when my mother and (God willing) Paola and I would be visiting them. I can think about my friends, and when and how to catch up with them, in the light of what I can think of in all levels.
On a community scale, I can think about the church, and my pending obligations to our partners and those we minister to. I can think about the ministries I am currently in, and I can try to think of what needs to be done for real, compared to what are band-aid solutions.
On an national and international scale, I can think about how we can respond instead of reacting to what happens in our communities. All sorts of things are happening in our neighborhood, city, country, continent, and world. The things that need to be done around the house. The simultaneous road-repair projects happening around Baguio. The rainy season. The implications of the decisions of our blessed President. War and rumors of war around the world. Natural disasters. Diseases.
Yes, there are so many things that I can think about. So many things I can give my attention to. So many things that can divert or divide my focus.
I will say this: If our focus does not inspire us to move in a way that it brings life, then we are not focusing, but we are worrying - and the Word is pretty straightforward, Jesus was pretty straightforward in saying, 'Could any of us add another inch to our height by worrying?'
There is no doubt as to the truth behind what Isaiah mentioned - 'behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples..' (Isaiah 60:2a) We can focus on this darkness, but this would only cause us to stumble, and we would be in worse situations, to the point that we wouldn't even know what made us fall (Proverbs 4:19)!
Let us all read this, declare this:
In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [b]Himself.
He was present originally with God.
All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.
In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].
John 1:1-5
Brothers and sisters, yes, there are many things that we can focus on, but let us focus on the Light! What is this light? No, the question is, Who is the Light? None other than our Savior, Jesus Christ! It is He who not only has the answers to what concerns we have that have the potential to derail us, He Himself IS the Answer!
Friend, these thoughts that try to take our attention have their root name. What I mean is this: I ask, 'Is what I'm doing really what God made me to do?' because I have doubts. I ask, 'I quit drinking and smoking, pornography no longer has a grip over me, but why am I still procrastinating?' because I have frustrations probably coming from a lack of self-confidence. What I am trying to say here is that Christ doesn't just have the solution, the answers to these issues; No, the fact that His name is above all names makes Christ Himself as the Answer! This means that the Name of Christ is above doubts! The Name of Christ is above all frustrations! The Name of Christ is above our lack of self-confidence!
I could go on; Christ is above our vices! Christ is above our struggles, Christ is above our pains, Christ is above our afflictions! Christ is above our success, and our confusions related to how we handle what success comes our way! Christ's Name is above my own name, and thank God that He is for us, never against us!
There are so many things to focus on... I say again, let us focus on the Light; Jesus Christ!
Solus Christus. Soli Deo Gloria!
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email me at jibee@rocketmail.com.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26