Remembering the Vision

Sometimes it's hard to stay focused. OK, for those of you that know me, most of the time, it's hard to stay focused. Each new conversation and new friend opens up new possibilities and new doors. So how can you stay focused? Every morning I wake up, new needs and priorities pile up, and along with that, so do the "half-jobs" (tasks started but not finished, thank Tim Reed for putting a term on it). There have been many times in my life where I've stepped back to survey the shrapnel of the jobs that were once top priority, now left unfinished. So the question remains; how do you stay focused?

Tara and I have been reading through the Gospels, and I've always had this picture of Jesus being completely available as the ultimate multi-tasker. During his time on earth, I know he caouldn't have been everywhere at once, but it seemed like mentally he was. When he spoke too long and the crowds grew hungry, he didn't send them on their way, blind to that fact it was dinner time. He broke bread and multiplied it, making sure everyone had their fill (Matthew 4, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6). When he was asked to come and heal the daughter of one of the most important religious leaders, he didn't neglect the people he met along the way. And, he still made it to his appointment with the little girl (Mark 5, Luke 8). So how did he do it with a million things going on? How do he stay focused?

Many people have lists of priorities or annual goals that can help them task manage, but we also have New Years Resolutions that excite us if they last until Valentine's Day. So I've been thinking about this whole focus thing and the example that Jesus set for us on how to attain it. I would venture out to stay that focus has less to do with looking ahead and more to do with remembering what has already happened and the promises that have been made. The Israelites turned a four month journey into 40 years, because they forgot (pretty much all of Exodus). King David nearly destroyed his character and his kingdom, because he forgot (2 Samuel 11). Peter denied and turned his back on his best friend and mentor, Jesus, because he forgot (Matthew 26). True focus is fueled by remembering.

Personally, I've torn down the to-do lists and plans for what is to come, because lists will always grow and plans will always change. I've replaced them with promises from Scripture and the vision that God gives us to go into the nations to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and to go with the power of His spirit (Acts 1:8), because they are timeless truths that never eb and flow or change with the season. Jesus was an excellent multi-tasker NOT because of his morning coffee and daily schedule, but because he remembered his vision and never strayed from what was promised to him. He reminded himself by regularly retreating to his "lonely place" (recorded countless times in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The daily schedule then just fell in his lap because of his memory, not his planning.

I will make one tag onto this as I close this blog. Stewardship and planning is also stressed in the Gospels and is a desired characteristic of a true disciple. However, the more we rely on our good stewardship and wise planning, the easier it is to forget that the only reason we can be good at either is due to the fact that God has enabled us to do so. If we spent more time remembering that God rescued us out of darkness and depravity and has issued the promises that he will strengthen, guide, and never leave us, our focus would be on a "true north" that won't change with the season or pile up on us like a heap of dirty laundry.

To finish this, I'll make the strong statement I've been building up to. In reading the Gosples and dissecting the life of Jesus, true focus and vision has less to do with planning and preparing but is truly founded on remembering.

Please don't forget...