Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus
After telling the woman caught in adultery, “Go, and sin no more,” Jesus continued teaching in John 8 with a statement that gives direction to every person trying to follow Him:
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
That picture is simple but powerful. Imagine being out in complete darkness, unsure which direction to go, and seeing a light in the distance leading toward safety. That is what Jesus offers. He does not simply tell people what needs to change. He shows them the way forward.
It can be easy to approach the Christian life as a long list of things to fix. Anger must go. Envy must go. Pride, bitterness, lust, resentment, selfishness and every other part of the old nature must be dealt with. There is truth in that, but if that becomes the only focus, following Christ can begin to feel overwhelming.
Jesus gives a better focus.
Look at Him.
He is not only the Savior. His life is also the standard. Jesus repeatedly explained that He did not act independently of His Father. He said, “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” His life was completely submitted to the will of God.
That is why His example matters so much.
In Numbers 21, the children of Israel became discouraged in the wilderness and spoke against God and Moses. Fiery serpents came among them, and many were bitten. When the people repented and cried out, God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and lift it upon a pole. Whoever had been bitten could look upon it and live.
Jesus later pointed directly back to that moment when speaking to Nicodemus:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.”
Just as Israel had to look toward what God had provided for life, believers are called to look to Christ.That changes the way spiritual growth is viewed.
Instead of constantly looking inward and becoming discouraged by every weakness, the believer can keep looking toward Jesus. How did He respond? How did He speak? How did He love? How did He forgive? How did He handle rejection, suffering, temptation and disappointment?
The answer becomes the standard for the next step.
But following Jesus does not always lead toward comfort.
That is one of the hardest lessons in Scripture.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew the cross was before Him. He told His disciples, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,” and prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”
Jesus did not desire the suffering that was coming.
Yet He ended the prayer with the words that reveal the heart of submission:
“Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
Later He prayed again, “If this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”
There is an important lesson there.
Trusting God does not mean pretending difficult things are easy. Jesus was sorrowful. He prayed for another way. He did not hide what He felt.
But He still submitted.
Sometimes following the will of God leads through places that would never have been chosen naturally. Jesus followed the Father’s will and it led Him to the cross. Paul followed the call of God and found himself imprisoned. Daniel stood for God and went into the lions’ den. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood faithful and went into the fiery furnace.
God’s will is not always the same thing as personal comfort.
That is why keeping the eyes on Jesus matters.
Matthew 14 gives one of the clearest pictures of this. The disciples were in a ship being tossed by the waves when Jesus came toward them walking on the water. Peter asked Jesus to call him out onto the water.
Jesus said, “Come.”
Peter stepped out of the boat and did something impossible. He walked on the water toward Jesus.
But then his attention shifted.
He saw the wind.
He saw the waves.
Fear took over.
And he began to sink.
The storm had been there the entire time.
The difference was where Peter was looking.
As long as his attention remained on Jesus, he was walking above the very thing that should have overwhelmed him. When his focus shifted toward the storm, fear entered.
The same principle applies spiritually.
There will always be things competing for attention. Circumstances can change. People can disappoint. Plans can fall apart. Fear can rise. The future can become uncertain.
But the believer does not have to allow every storm around them to become a storm within them.
Keeping the eyes on Jesus does not mean pretending the wind is not blowing. It means refusing to let the wind become greater in the mind than the One who said, “Come.”
And when Peter began to sink, he cried, “Lord, save me.”
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.
Even when faith falters, the answer is still Jesus.
Following Christ, then, is more than a list of dos and don’ts. In every situation, the question becomes: What would Jesus do?
How would He respond to this person?
How would He handle this disappointment?
How would He accept an outcome He did not want?
How would He show mercy?
How would He speak?
How would He love?
Paul put it plainly in Philippians 2: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Peter echoed the same thought when he wrote, “Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.”That is the work of following Christ.
Not merely knowing His words, but learning His mind.
Not merely admiring His life, but allowing His life to shape ours.
Not merely asking God to make every path comfortable, but learning to pray as Jesus did: “Thy will be done.”
And when the road becomes difficult, the instruction remains remarkably simple.
Eyes up.
Keep looking at Jesus.
Keep walking toward Him.
Because the more closely a believer follows the Light, the less power darkness has to determine the way.
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