FOCUS ON JESUS | Northstar Church

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” – Colossians 2:6-7.

If you dabble in social media at all you have seen the meme. A couple is walking down the street holding hands, but there’s a problem. The guy is looking back at another girl, and the expression on the girl suggests that she is very unhappy because he’s been caught looking at someone else rather than her.

It’s a pretty good metaphor for the human condition. No matter what we have, we are tempted to look away from what we have and long for something else that may not even be as good. We can have the same challenges in keeping our focus on Jesus.

Job one for a Christian is to build a relationship with Jesus. Paul is saying in Colossians 2:6-7 that you don’t start with Jesus and then move on to something else. There’s no graduating from Jesus to something else.

Jesus should define the entire believer’s life. We begin with Jesus. And then we keep walking and focusing on Jesus. Keep trusting him. Keep obeying him. Whenever you start to wander, go back to Jesus. The entire Christian life can be defined “…as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.…” It is not as complicated as we may think. Professional basketball player John Salmons said, “Keep God first. If you do that, if you just focus on God and keep Him first, then everything else will just take care of itself. Do everything for Him.”

If you follow him “then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

So look to Jesus. Make Him the theme of your life. Never look over your shoulder for alternatives. Dane Ortlund (Senior Pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church) said: “If you look to him, everything else is footnotes. All else will fall into place. If you do not look to Jesus, no amount of techniques or strategies will finally help you; all will be for nothing. Peel back every layer of distraction and look to Christ. Simplify your heart and all its cares. Look to Christ and His overflowing heart.”

When you see the real Jesus, it changes everything. It reorients your life. You see the beauty of Jesus, and then you realize what He did for you.

Discussion Questions:

Why is it important to stay focused on Jesus?
What can we do this week to keep our focus on Jesus?