A story is told about Leonardo Di Vinci revealing his painting of the last supper to his pupils for the first time. As the story goes, Leonardo’s students were marveling at the symmetry, perspective, depth, and detail of the painting. Di Vinci grew frustrated with their distraction from the main subject of the painting and exclaimed, “see only Christ!”. Unfortunately, there is a temptation for even Christ’s pupils to become distracted from the focus of their lives. Let us consider how as Christians, and as the church, Jesus ought to be the main focus.
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Lives
Christians are encouraged to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2 ESV). The Christian life is a life of looking to Jesus. If Jesus is not our focus as a Christian, we need to readjust our vision. If Jesus is our focus we will emulate Him, learn about Him, keep Him in the forefront of our minds, and slowly become more and more like Him as our life goes on. We must strive to allow Jesus to be our teacher in all things having to do with life and godliness.
When we allow Jesus to be our focus and our teacher, we will be more like Him. As Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). If we are not becoming more like Jesus, it is because we have lost our focus. We need to keep looking to Jesus!
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Singing
One of the central components of Christian worship is singing. But not just any singing. The singing we read about in the New Testament is always centered around Jesus in one way or another. Christian singing in worship is to be done by those who are filled with the Spirit, make melody in their heart to the Lord, and give thanks always to God through Jesus (Eph. 5:18-20). Our singing is to be to the Lord as the word of Christ dwells in us richly and we do all things in Jesus’ name (Col. 3:16-17). Those who overcome the forces of Satan in the book of Revelation sing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev. 15:3). The focus of our singing as the church is the One Who died to set us free!
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Preaching
The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that the message that the apostles preached was “Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). To preach the gospel is to preach the cross of Christ (1 Cor. 1:17). The heart of the true gospel message in its pure, New Testament form has never been “lofty speech or wisdom” but “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2). Whenever true Christian preaching occurs, no matter the motive of the preacher, the message is focused on Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:15-18). When we assemble as a church, we should expect to hear about Jesus! If He’s truly our focus, He’ll be the focus of our preaching.
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Giving
As Christians who give every first day of the week, sometimes our giving can seem monotonous or insignificant. Paul reminds Christians that when they give, they should do so with minds centered on Christ who, “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). May our giving flow out of hearts that are focused on the One who gave it all!
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Communion
The apex of the Christian’s week is remembering Jesus’ death in the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). In the Lord’s Supper, Christians partake of the body (represented in the bread) and blood (represented in the cup) of Jesus (Mark 14:22-25). Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is to be done discerning the Lord’s body, and in so doing we proclaim His death until He comes back (1 Cor. 11:26-29). When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are participating (or communing) in the body and blood of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16) and are gathered around the Lord’s table, where He is host (1 Cor. 10:21). Every single week, we gather as one to remember Jesus Christ, to remember our fellowship around His body and blood, and proclaim His death while expecting His return. It’s all about Him!
As Christians, our life, our worship, and our everything should be focused on Jesus. After all, we have been crucified with Christ, and it’s no longer us who live, but Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). He is our life. Let us continually strive to keep Him as our focus!
Jesus Should Be the Focus
A story is told about Leonardo Di Vinci revealing his painting of the last supper to his pupils for the first time. As the story goes, Leonardo’s students were marveling at the symmetry, perspective, depth, and detail of the painting. Di Vinci grew frustrated with their distraction from the main subject of the painting and exclaimed, “see only Christ!”. Unfortunately, there is a temptation for even Christ’s pupils to become distracted from the focus of their lives. Let us consider how as Christians, and as the church, Jesus ought to be the main focus.
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Lives
Christians are encouraged to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2 ESV). The Christian life is a life of looking to Jesus. If Jesus is not our focus as a Christian, we need to readjust our vision. If Jesus is our focus we will emulate Him, learn about Him, keep Him in the forefront of our minds, and slowly become more and more like Him as our life goes on. We must strive to allow Jesus to be our teacher in all things having to do with life and godliness.
When we allow Jesus to be our focus and our teacher, we will be more like Him. As Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). If we are not becoming more like Jesus, it is because we have lost our focus. We need to keep looking to Jesus!
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Singing
One of the central components of Christian worship is singing. But not just any singing. The singing we read about in the New Testament is always centered around Jesus in one way or another. Christian singing in worship is to be done by those who are filled with the Spirit, make melody in their heart to the Lord, and give thanks always to God through Jesus (Eph. 5:18-20). Our singing is to be to the Lord as the word of Christ dwells in us richly and we do all things in Jesus’ name (Col. 3:16-17). Those who overcome the forces of Satan in the book of Revelation sing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev. 15:3). The focus of our singing as the church is the One Who died to set us free!
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Preaching
The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that the message that the apostles preached was “Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). To preach the gospel is to preach the cross of Christ (1 Cor. 1:17). The heart of the true gospel message in its pure, New Testament form has never been “lofty speech or wisdom” but “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2). Whenever true Christian preaching occurs, no matter the motive of the preacher, the message is focused on Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:15-18). When we assemble as a church, we should expect to hear about Jesus! If He’s truly our focus, He’ll be the focus of our preaching.
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Giving
As Christians who give every first day of the week, sometimes our giving can seem monotonous or insignificant. Paul reminds Christians that when they give, they should do so with minds centered on Christ who, “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). May our giving flow out of hearts that are focused on the One who gave it all!
Jesus Should Be the Focus of Our Communion
The apex of the Christian’s week is remembering Jesus’ death in the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). In the Lord’s Supper, Christians partake of the body (represented in the bread) and blood (represented in the cup) of Jesus (Mark 14:22-25). Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is to be done discerning the Lord’s body, and in so doing we proclaim His death until He comes back (1 Cor. 11:26-29). When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are participating (or communing) in the body and blood of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16) and are gathered around the Lord’s table, where He is host (1 Cor. 10:21). Every single week, we gather as one to remember Jesus Christ, to remember our fellowship around His body and blood, and proclaim His death while expecting His return. It’s all about Him!
As Christians, our life, our worship, and our everything should be focused on Jesus. After all, we have been crucified with Christ, and it’s no longer us who live, but Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). He is our life. Let us continually strive to keep Him as our focus!