Looking Up

This morning I woke to find that the fire had gone out in the stove. Usually I make sure that there is enough wood in it for it to burn all night. Now and again I get caught out and there are not enough hot coals in the bottom to make it go again. This is our source of warmth for the kitchen and family room where we spend a lot of time. I don’t like lighting the stove, particularly from scratch. It just doesn’t always work for me.

So I often cheat on those rare occasions when it goes out. How do I cheat? I gather hot coals out of the heater and carry them on a shovel to the stove. This means walking a considerable distance through the lounge and dining rooms into the kitchen before depositing the coals into the firebox of the stove. During this process I should never look up. It is important for me to keep my eyes on the shovel to make sure that the coals stay where they should and don’t fall onto the floor.

As Christians we are often told to look up at Jesus but I believe there are times when we need to keep eyes on the project in hand. To stay focused, to concentrate in order to make sure that there are no mistakes or disasters. Yes, we need to be aware that Jesus is watching and guiding us while we stay focused on the job at hand.

“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,” Hebrews 12:1. Let us keep our eyes on the finish line.