Your Attention, Please

Read Hebrews 10:19–13:25

1. Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
2. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
3. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
4. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
5. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” Hebrews 12:1-6

Toddlers are notorious for their short attention spans. Older children and especially adults, however, can fix their attention on something for quite some time. Have you ever tried to pull a ten-year-old away from a favorite video game? Or how about trying to pull an avid sports fan away from the game of the week?

It is with this kind of absorption that the writer of Hebrews says we should fix our attention on Jesus. Unlike video games and sporting events, focusing our entire attention on Jesus can benefit us in many ways, the most important of which is a deep relationship with God. As you read this passage, refocus your eyes on Christ.

This reading also teaches us some graduate-level lessons in faith and helps us to understand more about the D-word—discipline.

Jesus suffered tremendous humiliation, injustice, and physical pain to do God’s will (Hebrews 12:2-4). Strangers arrested him for crimes he didn’t commit, beat him, mocked him, and spat on him. Friends deserted him. He died slowly and painfully in the company of common thieves. He became an offering for our sin (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). That is the price Jesus paid to obey his heavenly Father.

The struggles you endure to follow Jesus are real. It takes energy and commitment to say no to sinful desires, to do good deeds that you don’t want to do, and to discipline yourself to pray and study God’s Word on a regular basis.

When you feel discouraged in your Christian life, think of Jesus and all he went through to do what God wanted. Then take heart knowing that you can do what God requires of you by his strength and grace. Stay focused on him.