Focus on Christ

A few years back when all the family had come to our  place, I remember one of our grandchildren seemed to have a hard time paying attention to what his parents were asking him to do.  I watched his father gently cup his hands around his face and say, “Look at me, son.”  Then he said to him, “Stay focused.”  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we must remain focused on our duties, responsibilities and goals.  I wonder at times if perhaps Heavenly Father would like to gently cup his hands around our face and say to each of us, “look at me, stay focused, these are valuable lessons which are for your own good”.

A lot of times we go through life checking off things on our “To Do” lists that may not really have any bearing on our Eternal goal.  We must invest our energy, our minds, our hearts and our souls on those things of eternal value.  There are many things that compete for our attention, but we must remember to stay focused on what really matters.

Let me share this experience according Matthew in the New Testament.

            “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

            “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

            “But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

            “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

            “And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

            “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

            “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

            “And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

            “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying; Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

So, we might ask the question, why did Peter begin to walk on the water toward Jesus, and then began to sink?  Peter, “saw the wind boisterous”, and therefore lost his focus on the Savior.  He became distracted and was afraid.  You and I can lose our focus on Christ and his teachings by being distracted by those temptations and things about us each day.  Sometimes we get started on the right path and then find ourselves headed in the wrong direction.  We can also have times when we can be fearful and afraid to keep our focus on Christ because of our peers and what they might think and say.  I know that our happiness all depends on just where our focus in life is and I know that Christ should be at the center of our focus for us to find true joy.