One Thing
By Grant Gaines
In the early 17th century the French developed a new form of capital punishment. The death sentence involved a rope tied securely to each limb of the criminal’s body. The other end of the rope was then tied to four different horses which proceeded to pull in four different directions until the offender’s limbs were completely severed and he was left for dead. The term the French used to describe this form of torture was “disruption.”
How about that for a mental picture! But isn’t that exactly what a disruption or distraction can do to us? Don’t they pull us in all different directions to the point where we can’t even accomplish the simplest of tasks or enjoy the beauty of life?
Nowhere in all of humanity has this idea of being pulled in all different directions been more manifested than in our current day and age. We are pulled one way by family, another way by our jobs, another way by our hobbies, and yet another way by our kids. The demands of each day seem to require more than the allotted time we have to complete them. And in our efforts to make an impact in so many different areas, we spread ourselves out so much that we fail to make a noticeable impact in any area. The tension of this world pulls us in so many different directions that we eventually become, as the French would describe it, disrupted.
The tension that we are feeling today is no different than the tension that the apostle Paul must have felt in his day. Paul was busy discipling men and women, planting churches, and writing eternal theological truths that we are still learning from today. On top of all that, Paul was constantly on the move and in demand wherever he went. Paul’s zeal for the Gospel kept him always on his toes, eagerly looking for what needed to be done next.
And yet, despite all that Paul had going on, he told the church in Philippi the secret to his success when he penned, “…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” in Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV).
One thing. Of all the different things that Paul was undertaking at the time, they all fell under the umbrella of the same one thing-living for and focusing on Jesus. Paul said this much earlier in the same letter when he wrote, “…for me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21, NIV). Every single thing that Paul did was pulling him in the same direction-closer to Jesus.
Wouldn’t that be awesome if during this busy Christmas season that the same could be said about you? That of all the different tasks that need to be done over the next several weeks that they were all things that were, “…conforming [you] into [Christ’s] likeness with ever increasing glory…” as we are instructed in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV). I can guarantee you that your attitude would be joyfully contagious if while at the busy shopping mall, or while making the delicious Christmas feast, or while putting up the glowing Christmas decorations in your front yard, you made all of these tasks on your To-Do list fall under the command of 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) -“So whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
That’s what Paul did. When he worked at his job (Acts 18:3), he did it for the glory of God. When someone needed him to travel half way across the world to settle a debate (Acts 15), he did it for the glory of God. When he needed to encourage some old friends (2 Corinthians), he did it for the glory of God. Paul’s focus on Jesus made all the different tasks on his To-Do list propel him towards God rather than pull him in so many different directions. And that’s what God wants for us as well.
Jesus told the rich young ruler “…one thing you are lacking…” in Mark 10:21 (NIV). Christ looked at His beloved but busy friend Martha in Luke 10:42 (NIV) and said, “…one thing is needed….” David was acknowledging to God his single-tracked mind in Psalms 27:4 (NIV) when he said, “One thing I desire….”
The world around us today tells us that we need to be successful with many things. God says only one thing matters-loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 2:37-38, NIV).
Are you focusing on that one thing or are you being disrupted?
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©Grant Gaines 2016
