When I first became a Christian I bought myself a Bible. Inside of the front cover I wrote "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end." Hebrews 12:2 Of all the Bible texts I could have chosen, I chose this one. I wondered why. Over the years I've had several experiences that have shown me why I chose this text. I'd like to share my first experience.

One day while I was leaning back and relaxing, I started to see a moving picture play in my mind's eye. I'll never forget the experience. I could see a person walking down a dusty, winding road that was lined with trees. Up ahead of the person I could see light. The person was bent over with what appeared to be bricks piled on their back. Each brick had a negative word printed on it; words like fear, worry, anger, sorrow, jealousy, and hatred. As the person continued slowly trudging towards the light, I could see Jesus standing in the light. When the person looked up and started to focus on Jesus, they began to walk in an upright position and the bricks started to fall off. As they continued to walk towards Jesus, I could see what appeared to be butterflies coming towards the person. On each butterfly were positive words like love, joy, peace, goodness and kindness.

My thoughts about this scene have varied over the years. Through this experience it was clear to me that people carry a lot of heavy burdens (bricks). As we walk the road of life, these burdens can be so heavy that they make us feel bent over from the load. But once we look up and see the Light, which I believe is Jesus, and we keep our eyes fixed on Him, our burdens seem to fall off of our backs. In exchange, Jesus sends his Spirit (butterflies) to bring us love, joy and peace.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to keep our focus on You.