FOCUS

By Hallie Gipson

Once again the busyness of Christmas is upon us! Each year I vow to be prepared earlier than the previous year. However, events always seem to conspire against me! I still find myself in a last minute rush to complete those tasks I feel necessary to accomplish in order to feel prepared for Christmas.

My focus is on purchasing the perfect gifts for those on my gift list, baking enough cookies, attending all the parties I’ve been invited to, sending out Christmas cards, scheduling time for get-togethers with family and friends, planning the menu for Christmas day dinner . . . sound familiar? But in all the frenetic activity, I’m likely to leave out the most important part of Christmas – CHRIST!! How do I keep my focus on Christ in the midst of preparations to celebrate His birth?

Of the many definitions Webster has for the word ‘focus’, two of them have particular application for me:  “a point of concentration”; “to direct your attention or effort to something specific”.

If I apply those definitions to the issue at hand; i.e. focus on Christ, then Christ must be who I concentrate on and where my attention and effort are directed. At the risk of sounding simplistic, I have written an acrostic using the word ‘focus’. Now when I see the acrostic or remember what it says, my thoughts are drawn to our Savior.

Fixing

Our

Consciousness

Upon the

Savior

The passage from Hebrews 12:1, 2 (NASB) goes hand-in-hand with the acrostic to remind me of what Christ accomplished through His coming to earth.

“. . . let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing (emphasis mine) our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

As you experience Christmas this year, I hope that your thoughts are consciously fixed on our precious Savior, who gave His all so that we might have eternal life.

If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I pray that you will take to heart the words of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

What better gift to give back to God than to place your faith and trust in His Son! Why not today?