Have you ever watched those home videos that illicit laughter and have you cringe all at the same time? An example is the father and child playing T-ball together and the father, naturally, gets hit in the crotch with the ball or the bat. It’s hilarious! It’s painful! But you just can’t seem to look away or keep yourself from laughing. Then there’s the videos of the kiddo learning to ride a bike. They’re on a, mostly, empty street, they’re sporting the shiny, new helmet and padded up on their knees and elbows. They’re peddling their little heart out when they see a parked car off in the distance. It’s easily avoidable, it’s nowhere near them, yet they can’t seem to look away. The kiddo is so focused on the car that he rams right into it! It’s hilarious! We callously laugh and shake our heads, and we’re on to the next cringe-worthy disaster.
My husband used to tell a story in youth group about some of his motorcycle adventures. He would be riding down a stretched out highway or state road and there would be nothing for miles. He would see something ahead in the road and had to put a lot of effort into not focusing on it. He would have glorious views on the horizon, sunrises and sunsets, but put a pebble in the road and it was hard to see the beauty around him with a speck of danger in his path. Later on, as we taught our kiddos to ride bikes and our oldest to drive, we made it a point to explain to them the importance of where we place our focus.
I’ve held on to many truths from my childhood days and shed the tidbits that never set right in my spirit. Whether it was intentional or not, I learned that Jesus loved me and died for me, but I had to maintain my position. This maintaining was done by keeping the law as best we could, and when we failed, make sure to confess and repent. I grew to hate what religion demanded of me, so I walked away from the church for years. I was so thoroughly focused on the things I wasn’t allowed to do – the ten commandments and other “thou shalt nots…” – that I eventually gravitated towards them.
If I had to go to church to be a Christian, then I wasn’t going to church, just out of spite (very Christ-like, I know). It started out small, skipping out on youth group, then Sunday services, but then progressed to being much more significant. If it was a “Thou shalt not” then I either did it or got really close to doing it; don’t even get me started into where my mind wondered. Interestingly enough, I didn’t wake up in the morning and say to myself that I was going to go out and sin, but my focus was on the garbage heap I was saved from instead of who saved me.
I’ve been thinking, lately, on the importance of what we magnify based off of a sermon I heard years ago. I don’t remember the details of the sermon, but “being mindful of what we magnify” is a phrase that I’ve carried with me. As I’ve been dwelling on this, I’ve come to love that there are multiple view points of the time Jesus was with us. It adds to validity, sure, but it also reinforces the importance of what is being said. Remember what happened when Jesus was baptized? A voice spoke, a dove descended, I imagine the angels sang in perfect harmony. Remember what the voice from heaven said?
“And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'” Matthew 3:17 (NIV)
“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'” Mark 1:11 (NIV)
“…and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'” Luke 3:22 (NIV)
John’s account of baptizing Jesus didn’t focus on what the voice from heaven said, but focused on the Spirit and what the Spirit did in relation to what had been foretold.
“I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” John 1:33-34 (NIV)
Three different accounts that a voice from heaven (God) states that Jesus is the Son of God, God loves Him, and God is pleased with Him. Then a fourth account stating that not only did the Spirit come down from heaven when Jesus was baptized, but the Spirit remained on Him. Okay, that last part was just because I think it’s an interesting tidbit, but let’s focus on what God says.
Three different people recall the same thing: God is pleased with Jesus, God loves Jesus, and Jesus is God’s Son. According to the Bible, before the accounts of Jesus’ baptism, Jesus was said to have spent time growing, becoming strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace and favor of God was upon Him (Luke 2:40, 52). When God stated that He loved Jesus and was pleased with Him, Jesus had yet to perform any miracles. He hadn’t healed the sick, fed the multitudes, calmed the storm, or driven out demons. Yet, God was pleased with Him. Perhaps Jesus didn’t need to do all of those things in order for God to be pleased with him. Perhaps Jesus didn’t need to perform in order for God to love him. Jesus just needed to be God’s Son. Perhaps it had to do with where Jesus’ focus was; what did Jesus magnify? He focused on and magnified God, his Father.
Maybe there’s a situation you can’t seem to figure out, a relationship hiccup that just refuses to regulate; a wrinkle in your day-to-day that just doesn’t want to smooth out. Are you focusing on the car parked on the side of the road, or are you focusing on the expanse of open pavement around it?
When I spent time focusing on all that I wasn’t supposed to do, all the “thou shalt nots,” I was always drawn to them. It was my understanding – and that understanding stretches all throughout the world – that I had to prove myself to God through performance. But I’ve come to learn that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was either enough or it wasn’t. My actions, words, and thoughts are not what saves me. I left the church all those years ago because my focus was on me. I was magnifying me. I assumed that I had to perform; I had to do in order to be. I don’t have to do because He already did. And He imparted His Spirit to remain in us. As I focus on God and His goodness, the earthly things fade.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)
As we focus on the Father, magnify His incomparable faithfulness, and delve deep into the uncharted oceans of His grace, we will start to see a glimmer of just how much He loves us and how He is always pleased with us. Jesus kept His focus on the joy set before Him and was able to endure the cross! Just imagine what can happen when we fix our focus and magnify what matters: that God is pleased with us because we believe in the One who pleased Him.