Mar. 24, 2014

Romans 3:20

God doesn’t accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.

In the set of exercise videos that I am currently using, the person leading the workout sessions often says, “Focus.” He wants us to focus on the muscle we are working so we get results.

I’ve heard him say “Focus” so many times. Tonight as I exercised, I thought of it in terms of my faith. How well have I focused on what I’ve aspired to do this Lent to deepen my faith? As I practice my faith, do I focus on what I’m doing and saying or simply go through the actions?

Focusing on discipleship is really no different than focusing on a muscle when I’m exercising. I just don’t often think of faith in these terms. On occasion I do: when preparing for worship or putting together thoughts for a meeting agenda. But truthfully, how well do I focus on the daily acts I desire to do as a Christian? Not so much.

I was curious if the word “focus” was in the Bible. I thought I knew the answer before I went online to make sure. Yep, this is a contemporary word with no real Hebrew or Greek counterpart. The closest word I could seemingly come up with is “point.” As I did a search for “point,” I found this verse from Romans. It encourages us not to focus solely on the Law. God doesn’t want simply a bunch of people who are law-abiders, who follow all the Old Testament laws. The focus of the Law is to help us see where we’re moving away from God.

Understanding this allows us to focus on many other things which can help us grow in our faith, deepen our understanding of God and desire to follow God. This is what Lent is about. Now if I can just get some laser-like focus to help me along.

Lord God, how easily we get distracted and focus on things that pull us away from you rather than closer to you. How quickly we determine what we think is most important without really consulting you. As with exercise, focus is needed to help muscles develop; our spiritual lives also need focus to help us grow as disciples. Please pour out a significant dose of this focus on me today.  Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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