Unwavering focus

We get distracted and stray when our focus wavers. But when we have a single focus in life, every situation—whether positive or negative—can become a stepping stone that draws us closer to that goal. What happens to us or around us does not have to determine our direction. Our focus does.

For a Christian, the focus of our life is union with Christ. This union begins here on earth and reaches its glorious fulfilment in eternal life.

A wrong focus is like wearing dark glasses and forgetting that we are wearing them. Everything appears dark, and we begin to assume that darkness is normal. We adjust our lives accordingly and slowly lose our way.

Suppose our focus is to create wealth. Then every person we meet, every situation we encounter, and every opportunity that comes our way may be evaluated according to how it can help us achieve that goal. In the process, we may fail to recognise or serve the deeper purposes and needs of others.

But if our focus is Christ, we can still create wealth while remaining centred on Him. Our wealth can become a means of sharing, empowering others, creating opportunities, and helping people flourish. We can enjoy God's providence without allowing His gifts to become our ultimate focus.

A wrong focus can wreck our lives. There is a saying, “Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.” Whatever truth may lie behind such a statement, if a person's focus is sexual pleasure, it can become the justification for a life enslaved to it. Truth alone does not transform us unless it falls upon the right soil.

This is why Jesus tells the parable of the sower. The seed falls on different kinds of soil. Some seeds wither; others are choked; but the seed that falls on good soil bears abundant fruit. We cannot blame the sower for the failure of the seed. The problem is the soil in which it falls.

We might ask: Why doesn't the sower simply sow the seed where He knows it will bear fruit?

Because if He did, you and I might never have been given the opportunity to change.

The Good Sower continues to scatter His good seed everywhere because He loves every one of His children. He does not stop calling us, even when our hearts are distracted, hardened, or crowded with competing desires.

The invitation is always before us: refocus.

Whatever happens today—success or failure, joy or sorrow, gain or loss—can become a step towards Christ if He remains our focus.

Lord, may our focus never waver.
May everything we encounter draw us closer to You.