What do you love ...

It can be an interesting conversation to ask this question. the answers I am sure will be (or may be) quite varied, from I love my wife, my kids (children), my lifestyle, my home, my car, CHOCOLATE (mmmm), etc. of course if we were to look for biblical descriptors we would find that there are different terms for love (but I am not going there today). Simply I want to be thinking about the things that we might invest ourselves in to. What we give our attention to. What we focus on. have a look at the verses for today:

1 John 2:15-17 (New Living Translation)

Do Not Love This World

15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

It is a bit like that Scripture that reminds us we cannot love both money and God, you will love one and hate the other. You cannot have two masters. If you give yourself over to (give your attention, focus, invest your time and resources into) the world and the things of the world, the very real outcome is that God is snubbed, put on the back burner, left out of the equation.

The world (or the things in it) have great allurement to the eye. they have a tendency to have outcomes of a pleasurable nature (albeit temporary). And we can be pretty much assured that once it gets a hold of us, it is difficult to break free from its grasp - thus the warning.

Lord, I know I can be attracted to many things within the world. There is much that captures my eye. Help me to keep my attention to the things that are of You. Help me to focus on You. help me to invest in the Kingdom that is Yours.

The stand-outs ...

Looking at the passage of Jesus being betrayed by Judas, had me thinking of the "stand-out" moments in people's lives. Those moments that distinguished them from others. The times when that real "something" made them stand out from the crowd, from everyone else.

Maybe I am wrong, but there seems to be those moments for many people who we characterise as being "above" others. It was a moment in time that captured our attention and appealed to us. Think about it in this sense. Mother Theresa is a "stand-out" in our minds - yet, is she the only one who has worked (works) in the slums of India assisting the poor - no. But there was a moment in time where she captured the attention of "someone" (and then others) and that moment was leveraged to bring attention to the plight of the people she was looking to assist. Throughout history there seems many just like this.

Reading the account in John's Gospel today (actually yesterday now - John 18: 1-14) I sensed this to be another of those "stand-out" moments for Jesus. There are some of us who might have wanted to be behind Peter (just after he has cut off the ear of the High Priest's slave - Malchus), behind him yelling, "now one in the chest, and look out for the person behind you - run Jesus, run ..." But the reaction of Jesus was very different. He has Peter put the sword away, puts the ear back on the guys head and echoes once more His resign to do the will of His Father. He hands Himself over to those who have come with the intent that they might snuff out His life. He gives Himself over to death. Yes, He knew only too well what this would all mean, and yet, He was still willing to face that music.

You know what stands out even more for me, what amazes me more than anything else? The fact that Jesus, at this moment, was willing to give up Himself for me, not the world, all peoples everywhere, for me. That He was willing (and remains willing) to surrender His life that I might know life in all it's fullness - wow, that just blows my mind.

What a "stand-out" moment!

What has your attention ...

A few days ago I mentioned a book I was reading by Andy Stanley - The Principle of the Path. In this I related the principle of the path, the road we have chosen to be on (the direction we are going), and how this determines our destination (where we end up). Within this I discovered that for all the great intentions I might have, the goals and dreams I might hold onto, these won't make any difference if I choose the wrong path.

As the book proceeds, another lesson is learnt, another element explored. Andy Stanley raises in the formula the matter of "attention". What has your attention? What has captured  your eye? What has drawn you to give it all of your focus?

This is because what lures us or grabs our attention will most often determine the path that we take. Again, whether that be concerning our finances, relationships, employment, education ... If something or someone captures our gaze, it will often take us in a direction that may have been contrary to the one we were initially intending.

The importance of being aware of this, is so we allow God to keep our gaze. We allow God to command what it is we do, where it is we go, who it is we associate with. The alternative is to be taken by whatever, whoever  and wherever that something captures our eye the most.

Thus attention -> direction -> destination.

I would encourage you, if you are looking for a good read, to pick up a copy of the book and take up the challenge of being focused for God.