THE FOCUS FACTOR

Jesus “steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), or as the Living Bible says, “he moved steadily onward …”

There is something very enriching and encouraging that, like Jesus, there are times in all of our lives when it becomes fully evident that “This is what I must do.” God is calling us to “set our face to go.” Jesus had a task before Him, and that task was the ultimate purpose of His coming to this earth. It was compelling and it was completed.  He “set his face to go …”

Mark Twain was no one’s Christian model, yet he said some very insightful things, for example, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” After all, eyes and vision are not identical. Some very special blind people have told us that. So then, just because we see something with our eyes does not mean we have vision. Yes, it’s true what the German Konrad Adenauer said, “We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.”

The Christian is not to see the world as it is but as God sees it and always will. It is knowing who I am in Christ and knowing what God desires that creates a life vision. Really, all the godly acts in the world begin with both a mind and heart filled with thoughts about what I must do, if God is in action in me.  I must move “steadily onward.”

Let’s try to say it in Biblical balance—all people regularly used of God are to some degree visionaries whose minds are strongly set in a direction. Almost all have a low level of fear of failure and live in faith with no concept of the odds against them. They think, “One man with God is the majority,” so they make the impossible happen. The description of Jesus “steadfastly set his face” is very true of them.

There is a short statement by the Scottish pastor George Matheson, “We conquer by continuing.” By faith we persevere. That person with a living faith realizes it’s not ordinary ability, it’s extraordinary commitment to one’s calling and one’s destiny—to them all things are possible. Paul referred to it as being the “steadfastness of your faith in Christ.” (Colossians 2:5)

There was focus factor in Christ because He knew His mission with a singlemindedness. And for us, on a much lower scale, it can be the same. It is when people come to understand—“This is why I am here,” and that is the reason they steadfastly set their face. Jesus knew His mission, and we must know ours or we flounder and fail with misdirection and frustration. We end up saying what I saw on a Scottish tombstone, “… I do not know what I was begun for …”

Call it, if you will, single-minded tenacity. Notice again, “He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go” (AMP Bible). We can call it “constancy of purpose” and the focus factor. Sadly, too much of the Lord’s work has people in it who started out with an impressive spurt, but they lacked the commitment and the stamina to continue throughout their life. So very often their empty place was taken by humble and non-showy plodders who never knew when to quit—like Jesus they “moved steadily onward.” What made them unique was not giftedness or intelligence—but clearly realizing, “This is what I was born to do under God’s direction.” Yes, it’s a God-given sense of purpose for their life; they followed on in it.

The Bible speaks of “making full proof of your ministry” (II Timothy 4:5). Paul spoke of running “the race set before us” so I guess it does not matter how fast you run but how far. “… the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong …” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) It is getting into the race and staying with it with single-minded focus. We must go on to the end even if the end is a cross we are to bear or even to literally wear. We must let God lay out the pilgrimage path and ask Him to help us stay focused and true to it till the end of our time here.

So, like Jesus, who “steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” the place where He would be crucified, we too can demonstrate that spirit, saying, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, he liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). Did Jesus not illustrate that both purpose and perseverance are essential? He was resolutely minded and firmly focused, and we can and should be that way too!

When Jesus revealed what this trip to Jerusalem would involve, the disciples were shocked beyond belief. It was not possible for them to grasp it—together it was beyond logic. So strong was the response that Peter, in typical fashion, took Jesus aside and even rebuked Him! Peter said, You’re going to a place that, instead of honoring You will humiliate You and instead of crowning You will crucify You! Why—that is beyond belief! Yet, He “steadfastly set his face to go …”

Hidden to all the disciples was the fact that Jesus had a mission and He was totally controlled by it. Even to His disciples, up until that moment, the idea of a cross was an offense. They could not understand that the cross, with all His pain and horrors, was the center of world history. Yet, “He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go …” (AMPC) He was firmly focused on going, even knowing what would happen to Him. It was God’s plan, so He went on.

Here we make a quick, vital point. Jesus did not regard His death on the cross as an act to cut His life short. It was not bringing His mission to an untimely end. He saw the cross as the very actual necessity to accomplish His whole purpose for coming to earth. In a much milder manner, each of us need to have a sense, “This is why I am here, this is my life purpose”—and once that is realized, we too must steadfastly set our face to go to it and fulfill His purpose for us. “He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward …” (Hebrews 12:2, NLT)

So, the question is asked, what would it mean in your life to steadfastly set your face? In that sense, it’s too true, when a person begins to understand who they are and why they are on the earth at this moment in time, they truly begin to live. This humble knowledge is a sure road to a full and meaningful life, if God is the source of that knowledge. How foolish is it to know so much but not know yourself or your purpose in life? It’s possible to know so much more about other people than you know about yourself because of a lack of seeking God’s face and wanting to understand.

It seems to me that in life there is no greater disappointment or tragedy that we could experience than not letting God reveal to you who you are and why you are on this planet at this moment. Simply said, all of us can allow God to tell us who we are and why we are here and to live in it and “steadfastly set your face” and live!

We could say it this way, I believe: Inside the will of God there is no failure. Yet, outside the will of God for a life there is no success. Sinclair Ferguson once said, “The will of God means death to our will, and resurrection comes only when we have died to all our own plans.”

So, finally, let’s repeat—having a serious sense of life focus is directly related to practical understanding of God’s purpose for us. It is then and only then that we throw ourselves and turn our souls in the right direction. At that point we define real worship as my living for Christ!

Listen then to the truth. Jesus lived honoring God. That was because His life did not merely contain acts that pleased God, it was an act that pleased God! He had set His face and went steadfastly on pleasing God.