I was thinking about focus and what things I have focused on
in my life, then I realized something; I realized that “We always have one
main focus, all that we do comes from that one main focus.” For example, if you begin to focus on losing
weight, you decide I need to lose X amount of weight this should be my main
goal for the next month. Everything you
do comes back to that focus, from what you eat, to how long you worked out, you
have discussions with other people about it. It is your main focus. You may not realize it but whatever your main
focus is, it is what you are going to be talking about to those around you. As we begin this journey of deciding where our
focus needs to be, let’s see what our focus should not be on for a minute. Because we can become focused on things that
are not good for us.
The main focus that people focus on that can bring every
aspect of their life down is the past, the past can be good or bad. But if it is our main focus we can never move
forward. We can learn from the past
mistake, we can even be hurt or uplifted by past events but we must not fall
into the trap of the past being our main focus.
How many of you know that person who main focus is on the past, they
always bring it up in conversation, they want you to know how it has held them
back or how great some period in their life was. It is always the same stories the same thing
holding them back, if only this hadn’t happened… Wasn’t it great when… you know who I am
talking about, we all have this person they can’t seem to move forward, but it
is never their fault. Paul tells us this
about his life in Philippians 3:13-14, “I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting
the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the
race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us
up to heaven.”[1]
What if we begin to shift our focus from the past to the
present, what if then we begin to make our main Focus Christ, what if we said I
want to be an example to the world around, of Christ and, of God’s love and kindness. See just before Paul made that statement he
talked about his past and how at one time he thought these things to be important;
Paul explained how he once thought it was because of his past, his families past,
schooling and where he came from that was going to save him. That he was better because of his past. When we are focused on the past we become self-absorbed,
life becomes all about us, poor me or look at all that I have done.
What happens when we begin to put the past behind and truly
move forward in walking with Christ? “I once thought all these things were
so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has
done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it
all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. I no longer
count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to
save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the
mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer
with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the
resurrection from the dead!”[2]
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