journey onWord with us

Words mean something. And the way a word is used in a sentence will typically give insight into its meaning. Take, for instance, the word fix. Think of the different ways in

which it has been used. I had lunch today with someone who is a Mr. Fix-it. You immediately know that my friend is the kind of person you need when something breaks. From bad brakes on your car, to a roof leak, my friend can size up the problem and fix it. You have also heard this word used in a negative context. Sometimes people think they have to get their fix through alcohol or drugs. A temporary “relief” of the pressure and power of a compulsion or an addiction.  And lastly, when I say that you should fix your eyes on a target, you know instantly that I am talking about focus.

Since the context of a sentence will often give you the meaning of a word, let’s look at how fix is used in a few places in the Book of all books. Gaining perspective from the sentences and accepting what they mean can be life changing.

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Hebrews 3:1
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of  our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

From these verses, can you determine what God’s design is for Christ followers? If we are to fix our eyes on the unseen, and our thoughts and eyes on Jesus, there must be something to a life of faith and focused attention on the Son of God. My struggle (and yours) is that my eyes are easily attracted to what I can see. And to make things worse, my life is often distracted from thinking clearly about Jesus and having a 20/20 view of Him. But these words breathed by God leave no room for debate.

If we only fix our eyes on what we can see, life will be all about the temporal … the now. For true believers in Christ, life is not, nor will it ever be, about now. Our lives should be built around the realities of faith and eternity, although unseen. Fixing our thoughts on the one Perfect example of living is a sure way of developing a proper thought life. Since it is so easy to be distracted in our life focus, we should also keep our eyes singularly focused on Christ. Admittedly, it is a daily battle to fix our attention on what the Father has directed. You alone have to determine if His values are worth your commitment.

In life, there are times when we all need things fixed. In our emotional lives, there are crutches that we all use as a fix. On our spiritual journey, we need to fix our attention beyond ourselves. One word, with three meanings, and all are easily understood.