to get focused

As you consider the 33 years of Jesus' Life, it's remarkable to note His clear Focus on His Purpose in coming here: to liberate a people from Satan, sin, and death and to prepare The Kingdom into which He would invite them to serve.  Thirty years of relative obscurity, waiting for the "fullness of time" when this Work would begin publicly, followed by three years of adulation and notoriety pursuing the exact means of saving His Subjects and inaugurating His Kingdom.

How did He stay so centered on His Call?

Well, one might say, "He's God," so, of course, He's focused!

Yes, but He's also human, tempted in every way as we are, including the temptation to distraction or to declare his own way, rather than saying, "not as I will, but as You (Father) will" (Matthew 26:39).

So, how did He do it? Two incidents from His Life give us a clue and a guide as to how we can remain focused on Him, His Kingdom, and our place in both.

When He was twelve and on pilgrimage with his parents and relatives to Jerusalem, He stayed behind to discuss the Scriptures with the teachers in the temple, listening and asking them questions (Luke 2:46).  It's clear that Jesus was then and continued to be a student of the Word of God so that He would be able to live out its guidance for life, and specifically for His Life as Messiah.  In the Scriptures, Jesus found the Wisdom that would lead Him back home to submit to His parents for 18 more years until He would emerge publicly at The Jordan River.  We, too, can become focused on God's Course for our life as we engage the Scriptures, hearing, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting them so that we may embrace and hold fast to the life that is Life indeed.

When Jesus had finished a long evening of ministry to the sick and demon-possessed, we read that very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up from sleep and went to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35).  Jesus was a man of prayer, both in constant communion with His Father and in designated times and places, both private in various locations and public in the synagogue and temple.  In prayer Jesus heard the Voice of His Father, guiding and encouraging Him on His Way.  We, too, can be guided along the way Jesus has prepared for us as we draw near routinely, regularly, and repeatedly to Him in prayer.

May you and I be known as people of The Scripture and prayer so that we can become focused on Him and His Kingdom, even in the many distractions of this age.