What or who do you put your hopes in for getting through life or for bringing about positive change in a broken world? What or who consumes most of your attention? Who or what do you talk about the most? Who or what has your focus?
For many people, it’s their spouse or life’s partner. For others, it’s whatever romantic relationship that happens to be current in their life. For some, it’s their kids. Or maybe it’s a friend or group of friends. Or perhaps it’s politics or some institution, party, organization, or movement.
What about you?
In many cases, people may say they focus on the Lord and He is most important in their lives, but when push comes to shove, that turns out not to be the case.
Several years ago, I learned that a family that had attended our church chose not to return after I became the pastor. Their reason, according to another family in the church, was that I made some comments critical of a particular figure in American history — presumably someone they respected as a hero. This family of course made their decision without ever sitting down with me or asking for clarification.
Sadly, it is common for families to leave churches because they get upset about something. In most cases, they never make any good faith effort to sit down and clarify or resolve those differences. It’s a tendency that continues to erode the health of churches all around our society, but that’s not my focus in this article.
For now, I simply want to illustrate how people allow their priorities to get out of sync with biblical truth.
It shouldn’t matter that much if your pastor (or the pastor of a church you are thinking about attending) says something with which you disagree. What should matter is whether the pastor is preaching the word of God (II Timothy 4:2). After all, the focus of the church should be on the Lord.
Our passion should be for the Lord. And our hopes, dreams, aspirations, and emotions should be principally invested in the Lord.
Here is what the writer of Hebrews has to say:
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [l]ooking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2, KJV
This family who chose not to return to OBC when I became the pastor have more in common with me than they believe. They love Jesus. I love Jesus. They admire this particular historical figure (the one I criticized). So do I. Yet…
While I admire this historical figure, I have criticized his theology and his infidelity. To this day, I believe my criticisms were valid and should be shared by all knowledgeable, honorable, Bible-believing followers of Christ.
Unfortunately, this family has essentially elevated this particular historical figure to a category that doesn’t permit criticism. In so doing, they have effectively moved from admiration of this person to worship of this person.
Whoever you place above criticism is who you worship.
I’m seeing this tendency more and more in society today. We put our focus on politicians, political parties, social movements, family, friends, or basically anyone other than Jesus.
The truth is that I’ve gotten flack from people on both the left and the right (politically speaking) because I have, at times, made comments critical of the party or some of the politicians they most associate with. In their minds, it’s as if the stakes are so high and our country is hanging by such a precarious thread that any criticism of those they perceive as potential champions (messiahs?) is not to be tolerated.
It truly is sad. We are no better than Esau. We are trading our birthright for a pot of stew.
It’s not just with politics or history, though. It’s also with family. I have met many, many parents who effectively put their kids above the Lord. And I’ve met many professing Christians who care more about their sexual liaisons or romantic relationships than their relationship with God.
We are called to have no other gods before the Lord (Exodus 20:3-5) and to worship the Lord our God alone (Luke 4:8). Unfortunately, too many Christians hold tight to human relationships, human leaders, or human entities they effectively rank either at the same level or above the Lord.
When we recognize that Jesus is God and is the only One worthy of our worship, then it puts all our other relationships in a healthy perspective. And it puts all the other “heroes” (small h) in our life in perspective as well.
There are many men and women (past and present) that I admire. That obviously starts with many members of my family — starting with my wife (who exemplifies Proverbs 31) and my parents (who are now with the Lord). I also respect both sets of grandparents (also with the Lord), with special mention going to my maternal grandfather who was a decorated veteran of World War II.
And I’m very close with some of my aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and so on.
My list of heroes from history obviously starts with the “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 11.
And, being a big history buff, it includes several leaders in American history. It’s a long list, but to name a few (again, from American history alone): George Washington, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Joshua Chamberlain, Theodore Roosevelt, Annie Armstrong, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Elisabeth Elliot, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Billy Graham, and more.
Believe me, I could keep going.
Now, here’s the thing. Every single person I just listed (and, incidentally, the person I criticized – which upset this family – is included in the preceding list of heroes from American history) was imperfect.
We can of course start to rank the sins. In the preceding list, you’ve got people guilty (to one degree or another) of slavery, racial prejudice, adultery, dishonesty, vanity/pride, and on and on. While I still believe the good outweighed the bad, and their overall contributions to history were a net positive, they were all sinners.
They all needed a Savior. And who is the Savior they (and we) need?
It’s the Person that the writer of Hebrews tells us to focus on. The writer of Hebrews makes clear that we should keep our eyes focused on Jesus — the One who is the “author and finisher of our faith.”
It’s fine to have heroes. I listed a few of mine above. But we must remember there are heroes and then there is a Hero (capital H).
There really is only one true Hero — and His name is Jesus.
Jesus is God. He is the creator of this universe and of you and me (Colossians 3:15-20). We wouldn’t be here, if not for Him. No one else (except the other members of the Triune Godhead) can make that claim.
And Jesus humbled Himself and took upon Himself the form and likeness of a man (see Philippians 2) and died on a cruel Roman cross for your sins and for mine (see Philippians 2 and John 3). He then conquered death and now offers Himself as the atonement for our sins.
We have but to ask (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10).
He now sits at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3), intercedes for us (Romans 8:34), is preparing a place for us (John 14:1-3), and will return for us (John 14:3). And nothing and no one can separate us from His love for us (Romans 8:35-39).
There is no one else — not your spouse, not your parent, not your child, not any of your friends, no politician, and not any figure in history — who offers you what Jesus offers or has done for you what Jesus has done.
Jesus alone is worthy of your hopes, trust, dreams, aspirations, allegiance, and worship. And He is worthy of your highest and greatest love.
It’s great to love your family and friends. And it’s fine to have people you respect, admire, and can learn things from. But…
Only Jesus Christ is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Keep your focus on Jesus — the author and finisher of your faith.
