Have you ever felt as if you were spinning your wheels? Do you feel as if you are just going through the motions of life and not getting anywhere? I have been there many times. One main reason we feel that way is because we get sidetracked by the daily grind and lose track of our life’s mission. If you had to come up with a mission statement for your life, what would it be?
One thing we can learn from the life of Christ is that He never lost sight of His mission. Jesus spent almost three years with His disciples, and they were about to embark on the most important journey they could’ve taken together. Although those 12 men had spent so much time with Jesus, they still did not have a clue about what was going to take place. It would have been easy for them to get sidetracked with all the miracles, teachings and healings they had observed, but Jesus never lost His focus. In John 18:23, we see this in its truest form. In this passage, Jesus told His disciples He must go to Jerusalem to complete His mission. He told them He would be going there to die. This plan was set in place before the foundation of the world. It was the plan God used to redeem creation.
We can learn a lot from this passage. In today’s society, it is easy for us to get busy and sidetracked from the very things God would have us do. His voice is lost in the noise of the world around us. So what do we do? How do we stay focused in the hectic rat race we run every day? First, spend time with God daily. Get to know Him. When we begin to know who God is, we will understand who we are.
Second, what is your life’s mission? For what specific purpose did God put you on earth? What are you to do with the life you were given? Spend time asking God to reveal this to you. In time, the more in tune you are with Christ, the easier it will be for you know what He wants you to do.
Third, once you know your mission, stay focused. Keep your eyes on the prize. Do not lose sight of the mission you are called to complete. Just think if we were all on task completing the mission we were given—what an impact that would have on the world.
Perspective is the lens we use to filter the purpose of our lives. What we see (or think we see) affects every area of lives. If our perspective is based on Christ, we will have a very different worldview from those whose perspective is self, which in turn will change the trajectories of our lives.
As part of this transition in my work in law enforcement, I must be able to qualify with a weapon. Before we began becoming familiar with our weapon, we were told the handgun we would be using is a “point of aim, point of impact weapon”. You may ask what this means. It means that whatever I point my weapon at and shoot, I will hit. Whatever is in your sites when you pull the trigger is exactly what you will hit. As we began to practice, I soon realized the slightest movement or sight-picture change would affect where the bullet would impact the target. It could be a slight difference in where I put the sites, my breathing or how fast I pulled the trigger. Each minor change would influence the impact of my bullet. The same is true in our Christian walk.
Our perspective can affect the impact of our lives on the world. Whatever we aim at is what we are going to hit. The aim of our lives greatly affects the point of impact of our lives. The point of impact is where the most damage is done. The point of impact is where the greatest amount of force is exerted and where the most damage occurs. Think about that in regard to your walk with Christ. Where is the point of impact in your life? Are you making the most impact where God has placed you? Are you aiming your life to get the most impact? Are your sights lined up with the sight-picture God has for you?
In Matthew 6:25-30, Jesus called us to a life of simplicity. We are called to be free in Christ. All He asks us to do is follow Him. Why do the very things that set us free hold us hostage? Following Christ should be a life of simplicity, but we have made it so complex. Pray that God will help you clear clutter from your life. My prayer is that we would be able to focus on the day at hand as we follow Christ and not miss Him in the midst of the busyness and details. Jesus instructed us to look at the flowers of the field and the birds of the air and see how they have been clothed in beauty. He said He would do much more for us if we have the right relationship with Him. In order for this to happen, we must do what He called His disciples to do, which is to simply follow.
Lord, help me not to miss the much more just to settle for the just enough.
Daily consecrate your life to following Christ on the path of the simple and the point of aim and point of impact.