At Home – by Rudy Gray

The phrase “out of focus” may not be applied to a professional diagnosis, but it seems to be a common problem among professing Christians who find themselves troubled in spirit.

Rudy Gray

Every person Jesus calls to be a believer, He also calls to be a disciple. We are called to learn the truth of God and to follow Jesus. It is a lifelong journey. It requires discipline to stay focused. It is easy to drift. But in most any endeavor in life, discipline enables us to be more effective.

God has made it abundantly clear in His Word that Jesus must be first place in a disciple’s heart (Matthew 6:33, Hebrews 12:2). When we fail to obey the basic call of a disciple (follow and learn), we soon lose focus. When Christ is no longer the focus of our lives, other things (often conflicting things) become the focus. The inconsistency becomes apparent because, when Jesus Christ is not the focus, the focus on other things infects us with a lack of confidence and a surplus of confusion. This lack of focus can even cause us to become so obsessed with something that we miss seeing God at work.

It is amazing what a disciple attitude can do for our perspective toward our problems and even our duty to make other disciples. When Christ is the focus, other things are somewhat out of focus and yet we see life more clearly. When He is not the focus, nothing is really in focus and we see life through a distorted lens.

Mark 8:24-26 and Luke 9:23-27 are parallel passages that give us the duty of disciples: Deny ourselves, take up our cross (die) daily, and follow Jesus. That is the way to stay focused.

I am convinced that much of the emotional turmoil and difficulty we face is due to our lives being out of focus. When we truly see Christ as God and seek to honor Him as Lord, we will see life differently. It is not simply a new perspective; it is the right perspective. It is the outlook that brings focus and abundant life. With that kind of focus, others will see what a disciple looks like – and a focused disciple is able to see God at work in His world.