Tag Archives: Keep your eyes on the goal

More than a game

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Imagine you just got a new job. You’re filled with excitement about the prospects that are ahead of you. You’re anxious to receive your “marching orders.” You wonder how your talents and abilities will be used and to what end goal. You open the letter with your job assignment and read these words:

  • Be strong.
  • Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier.
  • Don’t get sidetracked. Serve your commanding officer.
  • Compete according to the rules given you.
  • Remember your orders and wait for further instruction.

 

You start to wonder what kind of a job you’ve been given. But there’s no backing out. Despite what others say, you know this is your true calling. And you are ready to live according to the call on your life for the one purpose that really matters.

 

In some sense, these are the instructions given to Timothy from his mentor, Paul in 2 Timothy 2. It’s not a call to easy living but a call to suffering, to endure hard battles so others might be rescued from the darkness. It’s your reason for living. It’s a call to live as if you’d died to everything convenient and trivial and to live a life of real faith.

 

The call? It’s to be a Christian, a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Not just someone who said a prayer and lives it up until it’s time for heaven. No, your job description inherently involves some degree of suffering. Did you know that every single book of the New Testament speaks to the role of suffering when following Jesus? If you were to cut it out from the bible’s description of a real Christian, you’re bible would be in tatters. You won’t read it in the popular Christian books. You likely won’t hear much of it from the pulpits. But it’s the message of 2 Timothy 2 and it’s a common thread woven into the entire story of God’s Word. The truth is, every life (Christian or not) bears the scars of suffering. But for the Christian, the suffering comes with strength to endure. If your eyes are open, if you’re serious about following the call of God on your life as a Christian, sooner or later you will encounter this part of your job description.

 

The warning and the call is twofold: flee from evil and pursue faith, love, and peace. Flee from a wasted life spent pursuing everything that doesn’t last. Pursue the life that is daily marked by an enduring faith, an abundant love, and a peace that transcends the circumstances around you. Paul says your job is to warn others against meaningless quarreling and godless chatter that spreads “like gangrene” and “to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” Your job is to keep your spiritual senses about you. Moment by moment, you’re to be constantly vigilant in your stand for truth, not distracted but rather keenly focused on the goal.

 

Suffering is not without reward. You know that. So does the good soldier, the runner of the race, and the farmer who plants his crops. Every worthwhile goal that seeks a reward comes at some cost, some degree of “suffering.” But the end is worth it.  The end is a firm faith, an abundant love, and a peace that transcends all understanding. Cancer can destroy a body but it doesn’t have to destroy a life.  Paul’s message wasn’t just for young Timothy. It’s for you and me. It’s a call to follow Jesus throughout our day, to live for him, rejoice in him, and when necessary, to suffer with him. . . nothing else draws us closer to God. It’s a reminder that to not get sidetracked from our real life purpose or be taken captive by the enemy.

 

It’s a reminder that life is not a game. It’s a calling to live with the purpose and passion that God placed upon our lives when we said we wanted to follow him.

 

 

Focus your thoughts

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It’s a well-known and wise adage: “Begin with the end in mind.”

 

Runners envision past the finish line before they start the race. Pole vaulters envision the inches above the horizontal pole before they jump. Architects imagine the whole building completed before they draw up the detailed blueprints. Before each day of travel we review the map (yes we still use those) and make note of both our destination and the roads that get us there. Probably you do the same with your road map of daily to-do lists. Starting the day with the end in mind is a good way to prepare for this gift called today. Beginning with the end in mind is another way of saying, “Keep your eyes on the goal.”

 

Paul refers to this theme a number of times in his writing. In the book of Hebrews he writes, “Fix your THOUGHTS on Jesus.” Of all the things you can and maybe must think about today, Jesus is our only constant, faithful, and most worthy focal point. Our commission in this lifetime is to build up the body of Christ. We are called to be encouragers not cynics, peacemakers not argument makers. He warns us that when we turn our attention to other appetites, vainful thoughts, and meaningless human philosophies, we get carried off track. We become enthralled with so many hobbies and ambitions that fill our schedules and minds while taking us away from our purposed goal. And sometimes the detours are both painful and lengthy. Our hearts become hardened and dulled to the Word of God in our lives.

 

Keeping our eyes on the goal means keeping the confidence we had when we started a project. I remember some folks who were so excited to embark on a mission trip with us but lost their confidence and joy when the work got tough and messy. I’ve been there too and maybe you have also. But keeping our thoughts fixed on the goal gets us through those tough times. Why? Because if the goal is worthy, the process is worth it! What goal could you pursue that is more worthy than Jesus? Family, business, satisfaction, fulfillment? Our best satisfaction in these is found through Jesus. And our very best satisfaction is found in Jesus Himself!

 

Wherever you are in your journey, today is the day for fixing your thoughts on the goal of your life. Begin with the goal of paying attention to what God is doing in and around you. Let this be a consuming focus. Where do you want to end up when all is said and done? What words and actions will take you toward your ultimate goal and which ones only distract you from that prize? We put our confidence in so very many things, but none of them last. With what confidence do you want to approach the Lord when your last day comes? Hold onto that confidence to the end. Don’t lose focus. It really matters how you fix your thoughts today because your actions follow them. Make your thoughts and actions count today and let them lead you to the goal you most desire.