Fix Your Eyes On Jesus
When I was a kid I used to look at the "magic eye" in the newspaper. Remember that? The colorful image where you had to gaze at it long enough until a picture emerged. Problem was, I used to get so frustrated at the magic eye. I could never see the image. People would say, "There! See it? It's a duck!" Or, "See! Right there! It's a rocket ship." And all I could see was a green blurry shadow.
Years later I found out I was color blind. What most people don't realize about color blindness is that it is not the absence of colors for most people. Colorblind people just see the colors differently than everyone else. Hence, they could never see a magic eye because they are focussed on the wrong colors.
The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to fix, "our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Trouble is, we are fixated on our problems. We strain at our worries, our doubts, our imperfections and even our sins. As these things capture and keep our gaze, we lose sight of Jesus.
To see Jesus in the blurry mess of life, we must focus our attention on Him. As we ponder His person, His victory, His promises to us, His faithfulness, etc., we begin to see Him in everything, even in the problems we face.
Sliders Steal Without You Noticing
"Sliders" are thieves who steal pocketbooks from cars at gas stations. They're called "sliders" because they sneak up to the car while the customer is focused on pumping gas in crouched position... sliding.
While the customer's attention is completely focused on the gas pump, these crooks make off with their valuables.
(Watch the YouTube video in the link)
Are there "sliders" in your life, people or things that stealthily slide in and rob you of the truly valuable things in life? Jesus, the Good Shepherd, warned His sheep of thieves who would "steal and kill and destroy." But He also promised that His "purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life" (John 10:10, NLT).
Why are we so trusting of everything but God? In a world full of thieves (sliders), why are we so hesitant to open the door to intimate communion with Jesus?
"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture" (John 10:9).
Illustration Exchange
Shrek the Sheep Carried a Huge Burden
Shrek the sheep became famous several years ago when he was found after hiding out in caves for six years. Of course, during this time his fleece grew without anyone having shorn (shaved) it. When he was finally found and shaved, his fleece weighed an amazing sixty pounds - 50 lbs more than normal and enough to make twenty men's suits.
Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece simply because he was away from his shepherd. It took a professional sheerer less than a half hour to rid him of his burden.
Shrek died back in 2011, but his story has just recently resurfaced in news outlets and social media sites alike due to a new interest in the science of fleece growth:
Modern Farmer an internet resource for the farming community was curious: can a sheep's wool grow forever? Its writer, Jesse Hirsch, interviewed Dave Thomas, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's head of sheep studies. Thomas says a Merino sheep like Shrek will grow wool indefinitely.
Click the link above to see Shrek before and after being shorn
Apparently, when God created sheep he had their need for people in mind. More specifically, their need for a shepherd. The same is true of us. Life involves the accumulation of burdens. Burdens that can't be tended to without the help of the Good Shepherd.
One internet blogger had this to say of Shrek's plight: