Fixing Our Eyes On Jesus
Nat is a third-year English degree student at UOB.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
I’m right at the end of my English degree course and I have loved the last three years, getting to learn about lots of interesting books and relaxing in the limited comfort of my mouldy, slug-infested house-share in Selly Oak. But I’ve noticed that, as the end of our courses have crept up on us, my friends and I have become increasingly concerned with looking towards our adult lives and deciding how to proceed. In this vein, I’ve been encouraged by reading a few different things about calling and the ways in which God calls us to live a life conformed to his standards and directed towards a fulfilled identity in him. This is a much more reassuring offer than the worry going on inside my head!
There are some common misconceptions about calling: you have to be paid for something for it to be considered a calling; each person has only one calling; it comes in the form of a life-changing prophetic word or a direct word from God, etc.
However, the opening of Hebrews 12 offers a clear outline of our fundamental calling as Christians. To describe our lives as Christians, the writer to the Hebrews (ch.11) uses the metaphor of running a race as a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ cheers us on towards the goal of a life aligned to Jesus. It reminds us that we are loosed from the chains of sin and shame and are released into the freedom of running. But the reassurance is that we are not running aimlessly; we have a perfect direction, a perfect goal, and a perfect guide - Jesus.
Prayer – Lord, I’m sorry for when I’ve imposed fleshly desires on my calling. I want to run the race of life for you, my ultimate fulfilment, King and Saviour. Help me to want nothing more than you.