The One Year God with Us Devotional by Chris Tiegreen

Author:Chris Tiegreen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Devotional
ISBN: 9781496400239
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2014-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

JULY 4

Acts 1:1-11

A Single Focus

Why do you stand here looking into the sky? ACTS 1:11

IN WORD Christians often have a dual focus. We want both “the American dream” and the Kingdom of God. We plan our careers, marry our spouses, buy our land, build our houses, save for our futures, give our children the best, and establish ourselves in security as well as we can. Meanwhile, we devote ourselves to church and some form of personal ministry, reminding ourselves of the cross we bear and the sacrifices we make. Our two allegiances don’t always contradict—theoretically, it’s possible to have both—but they do frequently split our attention between them. We become halfhearted about one or the other. And often the one we become halfhearted about is the Kingdom.

The disciples had a split focus too. They were standing there looking into the sky, amazed at the ascending Lord. They are perfect symbols of Christians who believe in the coming Kingdom but who aren’t busy investing in it. They believed this Jesus would come again, but they weren’t yet involved in His mission. They had forgotten the task at hand.

God might well ask us the same question spoken by the angels: “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” There’s work to be done, there’s a Kingdom in process, and there’s a commandment to obey. There’s an enormous difference between waiting for the Lord who will come and witnessing the Lord who is now at work. The Christian life isn’t a gaze into the sky, it’s an activity in the world.

IN DEED Which description fits your life better? Where has your focus been? Are you investing in the dream of temporal peace and material prosperity, or are you investing in the dream of eternal peace and ultimate prosperity? Or like most Christians, do you split your attention between them?

Spend some time evaluating your focus. Let your life be marked with Kingdom purposes above all else. Those are the investments that last. When heaven asks you where you are looking, be able to answer well.

The body has two eyes, but the soul must have but one.

—William Secker

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