Recently I had a visit to the optometrist. The exam went well, but she suggested that I get a Visual Field Exam. This sounded serious, but she assured me that it wasn’t a big thing and that they just wanted to check my peripheral vision and to see if there were any signs of Glaucoma.
When the day came for the exam, it was pretty straight forward. You sit in front of a machine with your forehead pressed against it peering into a screen; one eye is covered and you are asked to stare straight ahead at a light. You are given a small handheld buzzer and told to click the buzzer whenever you see a light appear on the screen, all the while focusing on the light in the middle. So while focusing on the light in the middle I clicked the buzzer whenever another light appeared -- in the lower right hand corner, the upper left, to the left of the center, and so on. The test is then repeated with the other eye.
The exam turned out fine. No significant or notable issues. But I felt that as I was doing the test it was hard to stay focused on the light in the center of the screen. When I saw a light to the side or above or below, there was a real tendency to focus on that light and lose sight of the main light.
Since I was thinking pastorally and homiletically (as a pastor and preacher) I began to draw some parallels from that test to our walk as followers of Jesus. If the New Testament makes one thing clear it is that we are called to focus on Jesus. The writer of Hebrews states as much when he says to a struggling group of first century believers, that they should be: “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,…” (Hebrews 12:2. The word used by the author (aphorontes) for “looking” has the idea of “looking away from other things” and because of the tense in the original suggests constant attention (cf. Hebrews 2:1). The larger context with its imagery of a race adds to this. The believer is running a race and everything that would encumber him/her or divert ones attention must be put away and the athlete must keep his/her eyes fixed on the goal towards which they are pressing. The goal is to be like Jesus in faith and faithfulness.
Now, I know that this is really the goal and focus of the Christian life, but it is so easy to be sidetracked and diverted and drawn away by the other “lights”. Like crows attracted to bright shiny objects we lose our way and instead of focusing on Jesus and the life he calls us to and models before us, we find ourselves focusing on other things – a great academic career, a prestigious job, a great family, the allure of material things, the pull of being a part of the “in-group” – and we lose sight of Jesus, the one who is supposed to be the focus of life. Now some of these things that capture our attention are good. But if we have lost sight of Jesus, it is easy to make these other things into gods that capture and consume our souls.
In his book, The Silver Chair (chapter 2), C.S. Lewis has a scene where Aslan, a Christ-figure, is speaking to the children about what they have experienced in his presence and what he has said to them. Aslan says: “Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.”
“Remember” – that is the advice that Aslan gives to the children. It is also good advice for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus. It is easy to feel God’s presence and grace when we are gathered together in worship – praising God and hearing his word shared and being supported and encouraged by those around us who also share the same faith. It is easy to focus on Jesus when we are in that kind of setting. But down in the valley, in our day-to-day lives, it is easy to forget. It is easy to allow the appearances and the pressures and the voices and things of life to overwhelm us and we begin to question whether that time with God was real. We lose our focus. That is why not only in worship, but in our daily devotional time, small groups, and fellowship groups it is important to know “by heart” God’s word and to remember the grace and truth, the comfort and challenge of the Gospel. That is why Jesus seems to sum up the Christian life by saying it is all about seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).
What about us? What are you focusing on? What are you committing to memory? What is guiding your life – appearances or promise? Do you have your eyes fixed on Jesus or is your attention drawn away by the peripheral lights and attractions of life?
