LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Eyes Fixed on Jesus
"Set your minds on things above", the apostle advises us. And the word of our Lord repeatedly tells us what we should look at and what we should not look at.
When one of our senses picks up a certain piece of information, it immediately transmits it to our mind and heart. For example, when we see a plate of food, even if the hunger is not so pressing, if the dish is appetizing, we see it and desire it (cause-consequence). What entered through our sight has now become a desire. We all know what happened to Esau, after he saw the dish of vegetables that his brother Jacob had prepared, he desired it and did not hesitate to exchange it for his birthright.
That is why we must pay close attention to where we fix our eyes! The eyes not only see, they also desire (1 John 2:16). That is, we first look and then set our heart there (Prov. 24:32). That is why our Lord puts so much emphasis on what we should look at (2 Cor. 4:18), and at the same time is so severe on what we should not look at (Num. 15:37-39).
From the beginning it was the Lord's heart's desire that we should look to him. That is why in the Garden of Eden he placed the tree of life (which was Christ himself) for man to look upon and desire. But Eve looked at the tree of good and evil and saw that its fruit was good, and she desired it. Well, the consequences we already know.
The consequences will be positive or negative depending on what we look at. In Psalm 34:5 it says that those who look to the LORD will be enlightened and their faces will not be ashamed. In James 1:25 it says that the one who looks into the perfect law is blessed, but in Isaiah we see a "woe" for those who do not look to Jehovah. Zechariah 9:1 tells us that the eyes of men should look to Jehovah, that he who fixes his eyes on other things is an adulterer (Hosea 3:1). That is how serious it is to avert our eyes. The Lord whom we serve is strong and jealous and loves us and longs for us jealously.
Once we begin this race we must fix our gaze on Christ, without averting it, for he who takes up the plow and looks back "is not fit" for the kingdom (Luke 9:62). Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt; she was disqualified from the race.
Let us be like Moses, who left Egypt and despised all his riches, because he had his eye fixed on the reward. By faith he left it, because he held on "as seeing the Invisible One". Our gaze must be centered on Christ. By looking to him we are transformed into his very image (2 Cor. 3:18), and thus fulfill the joy of his heart.
As Jesus the author and finisher of the faith, for the joy set before him (his beloved, the church) suffered contempt and reproach, so let us, having this joy before us, "our reward", continue steadfast and onward.