Proverbs 4:25. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
Have you ever watched a 100 meter or 200 meter race like in the Olympics? Sprinters take off running and they look straight ahead at the finish line the whole time. But every so often you’ll see a runner look to the left or to the right to check and see how close the other runners are. And what happens? That’s right, they get distracted and slow down just enough to lose the race.
Remember, verse 23 told us to keep or guard our hearts above all else. How do we do that? By looking straight ahead to the finish line like a good sprinter does. What is the finish line for Christians? It is knowing, loving, and being with Jesus. Do you remember how Paul said it in Philippians?
Philippians 3:13-14. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Like Paul, we too guard our hearts by fixing our eyes on Christ, looking straight ahead to him at the finish line, always remembering where we are headed and what the goal of our salvation is – Christ-likeness. We keep our eyes on the prize, and the prize is Christ.
Of course distractions abound, not least of which are the other runners – comparisons to other believers, fear of losing pace, obsessing on the “competition.” What does everyone else want me to do, require of me, demand of me, expect of me? Christian, stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and look straight ahead at Jesus. Don’t let the fear of man keep you from faith in God. Remember, as soon as you look to the left or to the right, you are likely to stumble. How many Christians have fallen out of the race because they decided to look at Christians instead of Christ? How many have tripped up along the course because they trusted in a person rather than trusting in God alone?
Even worse than a runner looking to the side is one who looks behind. What if a sprinter got out of the starting blocks slowly, and then stopped racing forward, turned around, and went back to star over while all the other racers dashed forward to the finish line? Ridiculous, right? Paul tells us to forget what lies behind. Any athlete, especially a runner, has to have a very short memory when it comes to mistakes and failures. Christian, you can’t keep going backwards. You can’t keep allowing the past to hold you back. Yes, we can learn from our pasts, but we must stop letting our pasts control us, preventing us from moving forward in God’s grace.
In Christ we must and can press on. We must and we can keep making movements toward Christ and his mercies that are new every morning. We must and we can allow Christ to carry us over the finish line of faith into the glory of the prize of eternal life with him.
Philippians 3:12. I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
You: What things distract you from looking at Christ?
You in Christ: Do you believe that you are headed toward the prize of Christ-likeness? That Jesus himself will keep you from stumbling in the race?
Christ in you: What is one practical and specific way that you can set Christ before your eyes today?
Pray: Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on you every day. I can’t wait to be completely like you some day. Amen.
To Live is Christ 