Eyes on Jesus
by Lenn Zeller, Volunteer Director of Conference Care
Back in 1950, Helen Lemmel wrote what has become a classic Christian praise chorus. You will no doubt recognize these words:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
The song is a beautiful reminder that if we abide in Christ, if we stay connected to Him and keep our minds and hearts stayed on Him, then the concerns and difficulties of this earth will fade. In the light of His glory and grace, nothing else will seem so important, so critical, or so pressing. He is our strength and our security. He is our hope and joy. He is our focus, our purpose and our goal.
As we contemplate what He has done for us, as we remember how He died for our sins and rose to offer new and eternal life to all who believe, our hearts are filled with humble gratitude and abundant joy. And we will find the heartaches of this life lessening in their power over us and in their urgency. All is well in our souls in Christ, even when the circumstances around us are anything but.
What happens when churches slip into conflict and internal strife? We get our eyes off Jesus and onto the slights we have suffered, real or imagined. Rather than focusing our attention on what we have in Christ, we begin to fret about what we don’t have. We turn over and over in our minds the insults and affronts we have suffered (or think we have suffered!) and forget all about how Christ suffered infinitely more for our sake. Make no mistake — the Enemy of our souls and of Christ’s Church would like nothing more than for us to get our eyes off Christ and onto ourselves!
In the midst of conflict, we spend our time and energy seeking ways to defend our honor, to gain revenge, to strike back, or to assert our power and authority, rather than focusing our energies on loving God, loving others and making disciples. We forget the example of the meekness of Christ.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. (Isaiah 53: 7)
Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. (1 Peter 2:23)
One important step for a congregation to take in working through its internal discord and disputes is to get their eyes, individually and corporately, back onto Jesus; to remember His example of meekness and humility; to get back to the work of ministry, within the body and to the community. Yes, we need to deal with the issues and personalities involved in the dispute. Yes, we need to work toward reconciliation and forgiveness. Yes, there may be occasions when discipline is required. But perhaps most of all, we need to turn our eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and remember His glory and grace.
