DON’T LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN
Were you told as a child, “Never look directly at the sun! You’ll go blind!”?
I was. It made me skittish to look toward the sun at all, lest I accidentally linger too long on that ball of fire and live in darkness forever.
The sun is the brightest and most prominent object in our sky. Everyone depends on it. Our lives are scheduled around it. We get our energy from it.
King David knew that too, albeit in a different way than we know now through scientific knowledge. He wrote poetically in Psalm 19:4-6 that God uses the sky as a tent for the sun. The sun sets out each morning, and like a strong man, it runs its course with joy, always on the move, from one end of the heavens to the other.
But as it turns out, our mama’s advice about not looking at the sun IS valid. We should NOT look directly at the sun, because, well, we really could go blind. Just like setting fire to paper by focusing sunlight through a lens, the same thing can happen to the lens of our eyes. And once our retina cells are killed, they don’t regenerate.
So instead we give quick glances toward the sun or look through other mediums or settle for images from high-resolution telescopes.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SON?
Does the same advice apply: Don’t look directly at the Son?
By our actions, we sometimes imply the answer is yes.
Instead of looking directly at Jesus, we may give Him quick glances. Or we think our work FOR Him is the same thing as gazing at Him. Or we are satisfied with simply hearing what others say about Him.
What happens when we look directly at other things (even good, godly things!) instead of on Jesus?
- When we focus on church, we become discouraged by flawed people
- When we focus on culture, we lose hope that good always wins in the end
- When we focus on ministries, we turn them into idols
Anything other than Jesus placed at the center of our lives will eventually create blind spots. And if those things are stared at long enough, they can cause us to lose our true vision altogether.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
Look directly at the Son!
Continue to love your church, work among your culture, minister with your gifts, but stay centered on Jesus.
- Talk to Him
- Praise Him
- Thank Him
- Confess to Him
- Worship Him
As you do, you’ll discover in your daily circle around the earthly sun that your spiritual vision is becoming clearer and stronger.
May the eternal Son always stay the brightest and most prominent object in your atmosphere.
Have you ever been tempted to stare at the sun?
How do you keep yourself focused on Jesus the Son?
Please share in the comments.
We’re studying Psalm 19 all month. Read it often throughout July. Check out our other posts here.
Interestingly, I just read this in my daily Bible reading today:
“You’ll have no more need of the sun by day nor the brightness of the moon at night. GOD will be your eternal light, your God will bathe you in splendor” (Isaiah 60:19 MSG). I love how God works. :)
This is so amazing. Yes, look directly at the Son.
“And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim.”
Thank you, Lisa.
I’m singing the song now too, Michele. :) Exactly—turn our eyes upon Jesus. Thanks for adding the music today.
What a lovely post, Lisa. I *love* your ending statement: “May the eternal Son always stay the brightest and most prominent object in your atmosphere. ” ~ Amen. May it ever be so, Lord. ~ Thank you for that, Lisa. :) So happy to be neighboring you today that the beloved brews linkup. ((blessings))
Thanks for your encouraging words, Brenda. It’s uplifting to have others alongside us also orbiting around the Son. The journey is even brighter in community.
Great post…I would add one thing.
LISTEN to Him. A lot of churches have drifted away from Christ to become oracles of minor points of Pauline “administrative theology”, or Revelatory and Millennial prognostication. Jesus is almost an afterthought, and sometimes an inconvenient one.
I asked a seasoned Christian about this, and was told, “Of course. Paul’s the one who built the church!”
Well, I thought Peter was the Rock…and where does the term ‘Christian’ come from, anyway? Didn’t say it, though.
Yes, yes—LISTEN to Him is definitely an important addition. And isn’t it odd how we can sometimes leave Christ out of Christianity? Good points, Andrew. Thanks for sharing here.
Excellent point and reminder, Lisa. We tend to rely on others to do the work for us that in the end is the blessing. We wouldn’t want someone to get our paycheck, yet we rely on others to intercede for us on our Father’s behalf. While that’s good, it can’t replace the relationship for us. Thanks for the timely post.
This–> “It can’t replace the relationship for us.” Total agreement, Floyd. To get the relationship, we need to put in the time. I do want to receive the rewards myself. :)
What a wonderful reminder, Lisa, of where our focus should always stay! A very good message for my heart to hear! Thank you for sharing these words. Love you sister:)
You do a great job of staying focused on Jesus, Cindy. You’ve been a wonderful example for me to follow. I know I have much more joy when I can stay focused on Him instead of circumstances that swirl around us. Love you too!
Hi Lisa, I’m so glad to visit after you comment on my recent blogs! I love this post — especially when you say:
When we focus on church, we become discouraged by flawed people
When we focus on culture, we lose hope that good always wins in the end
When we focus on ministries, we turn them into idols
It helps me to name the dissatisfaction I sometimes feel in the church, and in the world..the true way of life is by becoming like little children following the good parent, Jesus, to learn his ways where we won’t be blinded by idols, flawed people, flawed churches!
By focusing on Jesus, we can then become ‘little Christ’s’ in the world (C.S. Lewis), the lamps that shine his light into the world! Wonderful post!!
It helps me to get specific, too, about what’s bothering me so I can get specific in focusing back on the better thing. So glad you shared about becoming “little Christ’s” in the world; what beautiful imagery for how Christians are to be about and about sharing love to others!
Love these thoughts and analogy dear friend! When I read the bible (no matter the passage) I look for what it tells me about Jesus – and write that in my journal. Some verses don’t explicitly talk about Him but they have some part in the overall purpose of God’s Word, which is to show us God and His Son Jesus – not just rules to follow. Intentionally looking my Savior (not just in God’s Word but also in the lives of His people) helps me stay focused on Him. Alas, my focus can be diverted but thankfully He always provides something to pull me back to Him. Love you and your heart for our King!
What a wonderful practice, Selwyn! I’m not surprised though; you are one of the most Jesus-centered people I’ve ever known. That’s one reason I treasure our friendship so much. Your example reminds to stay focused on Him. I definitely see Him every time I’m with you. You have been such an incredible blessing in my life.
There is an old hymn I haven’t heard in a long time, but the last verse goes:
We would see Jesus: this is all we’re needing;
Strength, joy, and willingness come with the sight;
We would see Jesus, dying, risen, pleading;
Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night.
I forget which missionary biography I read this in, but I remember one in which the missionary said she had a hard time really loving the people she was ministering to, and she was often discouraged and berating herself to do better. But when she began meditating on His love for her, He changed her heart without her even realizing it until some of the people commented to her husband on the change in her. Even in our growth in Him we can get focused on ourselves and the “gotta do betters” rather than beholding Him. In any area of life, gazing at Him imparts the grace to be more like Him. I don’t know why I need constant reminders to do so, but I do, and I thank you for providing one.
I’ve never heard of that hymn so thanks for sharing the lyrics, Barbara. Very apropos!
The missionary story is full of hope to me. I know I can do what you mention here: get so caught up in wanting to change (even for good reasons!) that even that can become more central to me than focusing on Jesus Himself. After so many years as a Christian, you’d think I’d outgrow that. But I still need reminders too so I understand what you’re saying. Thanks for imparting your wisdom here. You always have such meaningful stories to share.
So excellent and encouraging, Lisa. The comments are as well with some music to be humming for the evening. : )
Coming here has given me assurance that God wants me spending time in James. I have felt that for a couple of weeks now, but thought I would finish Isaiah first. Well, this is the second time today that James has shown up for me so I will be reading from both books tomorrow.!!
Thankful to have come by.
~ linda
I’m glad you’ve been inspired to read more in James.The first chapter continues to blow me away, the more I read it and try to take its advice–to do and not just hear. I’m glad you came by, too, Linda.