SEEING CLEARLY
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
Matthew 24:4-6 (NLT)
One of my favorite movies growing up was The Karate Kid. Daniel LaRusso is a teenager of a single mom who moves across the country, and finds his life to be difficult. He is mentored by Mr. Miyagi, who teaches him many life lessons as well as karate. During one of his training sessions, Daniel is frustrated by what he sees as the lack of progress in karate. As Mr. Miyagi trains and teaches him, Daniel looks down in frustration. Mr. Miyagi quickly corrects him and says, Eye… always look eye.
Why is always look eye so important for Daniel LaRusso and for us? Because when we look into the eye of an authority, what we see steadies us. Ultimately, when we look into the eyes of Jesus, we see many things, including peace, strength and love. Why is that important to experience? Well, three of the gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) tell us that we will hear about wars and rumors of wars. The price of war is steep, and war can be quite traumatic. But look at what Jesus says next…. He says don’t be alarmed and don’t panic.
Jesus gives us those words because He is the authority over everything. It doesn’t mean there won’t be trials, but He is in charge. He knows how all this will end. He knows that an eternity with Him awaits.
Like Mr. Miyagi saying, Eye… always look eye, Jesus is saying to look to Him, to look at Him as these wars and rumors of war occur. When we look elsewhere, we often become alarmed and panicked.
APPLICATION: Take some time to process moments in the past where you took your eyes off God. Share with someone how that turned out. Then, share with someone how things turned out when you kept your eyes on God. Next, have someone else share their experiences with keeping their eyes on God versus taking their eyes off God. Then pray for each other as God leads.
PRAYER: Father, teach me to always look at and to You. Fill me with Your peace. Amen.
"… Our Father in heaven…" Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
• What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
"… may your name be kept holy." Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
• What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
"May your Kingdom come soon." Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
• Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
"Give us today the food we need," Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
• Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I'm around today?
"and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us" Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
• Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
"And don't let us yield to temptation…" Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
• Is there anywhere I'm vulnerable to temptation?