Eyes fixed……
January 12, 2011 // By: Bob Hamp // 11 Comments
So, I have to admit it…I see things everywhere. Apparently, though, according to the American Psychological Association, this is not a problem; it is only a problem if I hear things, but that is a whole other post.
This being the case, you get a peek into the way I see things.
Last night, I spent the night slalom skiing, in the comfort of my living room. For Christmas, my family gave me the Wii Fit game, and it is loaded with all kinds of fun. Slalom skiing is one of multiple opportunities to look silly in your own home. However, i was determined to get my time under a minute (So close….) so, silly or not, I skied my night away. While skiing, I noticed something.
In this game you ski through “gates” which are pairs of flags, delineating the course. The game measures your time for the run, and then adds a certain amount of time for every gate that you miss. So here is what I saw. If you looked at the very next gate, you will always over compensate, and miss not only that gate, but the one following it. The trick is to watch the gate at least two moves ahead, and keep your eyes further down the run. The difficulty with this is that if you miss a gate, it draws your attention to the next one, and pulls your focus in too close, causing an avalanche of misses that continue until you can get your eyes off the disaster of the next missed gate.
Anyone else see it too?
As we begin the journey to freedom, setting our sights is crucial as we begin. What we focus on, determines the direction in which we move. If our focus is too close, we get focused on ourselves and our inabilities (or sometimes worse, our abilities). Either way we over-correct.
Look further away. Not as in tomorrow, or next week, focus higher. Look first at the active presence of the Spirit of God on the earth and in your life. Seek first His Kingdom. See that He has already finished the race and move towards Him. Don’t get your eyes trapped on the gate you just missed, your senses will begin to work against you.
Many car accidents happen when we over-correct our mistakes. The first mistake is usually not the one that crashes our car, it is the cascade of mistakes we make when we focus on ourselves and try to correct our trajectory with a limited line of sight.
You are going to miss some gates. You are going to slip off the road. But we must learn to get our eyes upward and not let these mis-steps throw off our next five turns.
So the funny part of this is that in our Wii game, Jesus is one of the characters. A kind little avatar with long hair and a beard is often seen on the sidelines, and in many cases at the end of the race. He shows up in funny places, and every time, He is cheering me on, encouraging me to keep going. Last night He stood at the end of the run, and cheered wildly for me as I finished the run.
The funny thing is He cheered for me on my good runs, and He cheered for me when I missed half the gates. He just kept cheering for me.
I feel like, if it were possible for my avatar to turn around and look back at the run, I might see that there were two sets of tracks. And if I could look back at the gates I had missed, you would only see one set of tracks, and those track would have made every gate. If I could ask, He would say “my son, it was in those gates that I put you on my shoulders and carried you…”
Hee hee….
11 Comments
WOW! UGH! Speechless, awed, and a little sick. Good Stuff!
Love this. I’ve played some of those Wii games and love the analogy of the “Jesus avatar” constantly cheering us on whether we “win” or “lose”. I won’t forget this, especially every time I play. Thanks for the reminder, Friend!
I have been praying lately to have my eyes fixed on the right thing…and I needed to hear that Jesus is cheering for me.
Thanks.
I like really really loved this post. I can’t get over the cheering Jesus avatar … my heart is smiling and looking ahead.
I’m still a padwan, but it’s so much fun to know there’s someone out there like me! I’m constantly making connections between the world around me and the Kingdom. I’m so grateful for your posts, classes and book for helping me discern it all better. Keep up the posts!! It’s like the Holy Spirit is whispering in my ear from the Word and in my heart, then BAM! Something as simple as a video game finally connects my mind to the Holy Spirit’s words!!
Thanks guys…everybody who has a Wii ought to “ask Jesus into their Wii” it makes everything better!!
Glad you found it encouraging….
I always think it is hilarious the ways that God finds to communicate with us..thanks
The title should be “Ski ruts on the hill”, right?
Jesus carried me on His shoulders through most parts of my life, saved my life many times, and now is still cheering me on through this Journey of life with Him. Can’t wait for Kairos!
Kinda scary there, Bob. Reminds me a little of a song I once heard; “What Everyone Wants Is A Paper Doll Jesus”. One that will do whatever we want him to, then we can put him away when we tire of him. The Real Jesus, to me, is the Ultimate Drill Seargeant. “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” “He who does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.” “To him who has shall more be given, but from him who has not shall be taken even what little he has.” TOUGH! (I’m a panty-waist.)
Wow Ted, the ultimate drill seargent!? No wonder it seems scary to you…It is hard for me to picture even the softest drill seargent, making statements like “Come unto me you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls.” or “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” When Jesus gets “hard core” He is usually referring to helping people turn from what kills them to that which gives them life, or, at his most vitriolic, He is talking to those who urge others to partake in the death of serving God without the life giving experience of trusting God. While He urges us to take up our cross, He simultaneously offers to bear our infirmities, and our sin. I hope as you read (not just my blog, but the scriptures as well) you will continue to see the Jesus who stands fervently in the kind of love that would never stand for anything that harms the object of His love…even when that which would harm it, is the flesh of that very object.