KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS
Paul explained one aspect of what it means to keep your eyes on Jesus, when he said, "Since you have been raised to new life in Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of the earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory" (Colossians 3:1-4).
Before anything existed, God chose to reveal his glory. But to whom? Nothing and no one existed yet. So in his wisdom, he chose to share his glory "to" his creation, by sharing his glory "through" his creation. Before he created any of us, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out to us who belong to his dear Son" (Ephesians 1:5-6). Then God tells us something that is too wonderful for us to comprehend, yet can still be received by faith and made real to us by God. "For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). This is the heavenly reality God wants us to "see," not the illusion of reality that tries to tell us that this earthly life is all there is. What God is saying is, "Look ahead. There's more. Much more."
Only God's Spirit within us can open our eyes to eternal realities that are unseen..."for the light makes everything visible...and Christ will give you light" (Eph. 5:14). He gives us light because he is the Light of the World. In other words, as he lives his life through us, we get to live in his light. God reminds us to "live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in the manner worthy of the Good News about Christ" (Philippians 1:17). Another way we keep our eyes on Jesus is this: "Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this" (2 Corinthians 10:7). Too often, we forget things we should remember, and hold onto memories that we should just forget.
Christianity is a "down to earth" religion of relationship, with a God who comes to us and meets us where we are in life. Jesus came down to us and walked dusty roads with people. Even when he left us physically, he made sure we understood that, although our calling is a high calling, it is a very "down to earth" calling. As the disciples continued to stare up into the heavens, after Jesus had ascended to heaven, God had to send two angels to them and say, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?" (Acts 1:11). Our answers to people's questions about God are not "up in the air" answers. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon these same disciples and filled them with his powerful, indwelling presence. He is the One who then enabled them to speak to other people about Christ, in language that those people could understand.
"When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7).
As we can see from this text, keeping our eyes on Jesus also includes seeing that our righteousness is based on God's gift of grace, not on what we do or don't do for God. It's all about the sacrifice he made for us, not on any sacrifices we make for him. Because of what Christ did for us, God "declares" us righteous, even though we are far from righteous, in and of ourselves. Faith is the key, as it is the only channel God gives us this unearned gift through. Some people say, "Do you mean to tell me that a good person, who doesn't agree that Jesus is the only way, has no chance of going to heaven?" God's answer to this question is, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). So, going to heaven is not based on my sense of goodness, but on Christ's undeserved goodness to me. The only question is whether or not I'm willing to believe this. And the only question that God will ask us at the throne is, "What did you do with my Son?" It's all about Christ's righteous act on the cross. He's the Righteous One, and because he lives in us, the Father sees nothing but righteousness when he looks at us. Seeing that Jesus is always my righteousness gives my relationship with the Father a stability that it could never have if I were depending on my own efforts to be made right with God.
When Jesus began his ministry, he told everyone that the Kingdom of God was at hand, but there was a mystery about this that the Jewish religious leaders couldn't grasp. Here was the long awaited Messiah telling them that all their years of self-effort, to make themselves good enough and religious enough, were worthless in God's sight. Today, many people think the same way that the Pharisees thought. It seems to make sense to many that God would only allow "good people" to get into heaven. Or that he wouldn't send anyone to a fiery hell for eternity. But that is logic and reason that only comes from human viewpoints, not what God himself has clearly said to us in his Word. We cannot declare what reality is, based upon our own opinions, because God tells us that he will have the last word.
The reality that God declares to us is that there is no merit system for us to attain to. God tells us that human beings look at outward appearance, but he looks at the heart. To him, obedience is not just outward obedience. Inward obedience is "a matter of the heart," because in our heart is where our true motives and intentions are. God brings us into obedience by working from the inside out with us, because inside is where our problems with obedience lie. If we follow Christ and his way, obedience then becomes the fruit of his work within us. So when it comes to obeying God's will for our life, it is his grace working through us that comes first, not our own human exertion. We "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." We do not seek to establish our own righteous, based on what we do for God. Instead, our right standing with God is based on faith in Christ's obedience to his Father, in going all the way to that cross for us.
As we think about what it means to "keep our eyes on Jesus," we have to remind ourselves that he keeps his eyes on us. "The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help...The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time...the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned" (Psalm 34:15,17-19,22). These words are written by David, who experienced many troubles, made a number of mistakes, and committed some terrible sins against God and against other people. But through it all, he learned that he could always look to God, and that God could be trusted to forgive, heal, and restore him.
When we are brokenhearted, and our spirit feels crushed, God is right there with us. At one point, Hagar, the slave girl, ran away from Sarai and Abram, who were God's vessels at that time. Pregnant with Ishmael, she ran to the wilderness, which is a place of barrenness. People died in the wilderness. Brokenhearted, despairing, and all alone, the angel of the Lord came to her and spoke with her. He asked where she was coming from and where she was going, even though he already knew. Those are the questions God will ask us too. Jesus' answer to a certain group of people was, "I have come from my Father and I am going to my Father." Ultimately, that should be our answer too. After telling the angel of the Lord that she was running away from her master, Sarai, she was told to go back to her master and submit.
When we are running away from something in our life, or running away from God, God will call us back to what he has called to be. We are to present ourselves to God as "slaves to righteousness for sanctification." We are called to submit ourselves to God's righteousness and allow him to sanctify us under his sovereign control and authority, for our own good. We have been freed fro our slavery to sin, and enslaved to God. The end result is eternal life. The angel of the Lord then told Hagar his plans for her. He said, "I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude" (Genesis 16:10). Basically, God was telling her that her life wasn't over. It was just beginning. And when he left her, she named him, "Elroi," which means "The God who sees." Keep your eyes on Jesus because he always keeps his eyes on you. God can reach people in the most loneliest places, and he will reveal himself to anyone who wonders about him. Even a person who is a "far corner" of the world, with no Christian church and no missionary in sight, can come to know "the God who sees." You may not be in some far away physical place. You may be surrounded by people every day, have an extremely busy life, and yet feel utterly alone because it seems like nobody cares or understands what you are feeling deep inside. Don't worry. God sees, and if you call upon him, he will come to you.
Did the angel of the Lord give Hagar 7 or 8 steps she needed to follow first, in order to receive the great blessing he was promising her? No, he said very simply, "Return and submit yourself." If you are trying to follow 7 or 8 steps someone has told you that need to follow first, in order to then start receiving God's promises, God will simply say, "return and submit to Christ's righteousness." This is the foundation God wants us to stand on, and if we simply praise him and give thanks for his unearned gift to us in Christ, then he will continue pouring out his grace and blessing to us. Then he will fulfill his promises to us. It is upon the Rock of righteousness that the Holy Spirit will make Christ more and more of a living reality to you and I.
