Single Focus

“A man’s heart has only enough life in it to pursue one object fully.”
Charles Spurgeon

The dancers on the cruise ship mesmerized me. It baffled me how they could spin and twirl and yet not lose their balance. Then I read how dancers use a technique called ‘spotting’ to prevent them from becoming overly dizzy. They find a spot directly in front of them at eye level and keep their eyes fixed on this spot throughout the entire turn.

As Christians, to keep our balance, we too need to keep our eyes fixed on one thing, Jesus. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) In order to not fall or to deviate from the path God desires, we must be single focused. We can be trained to do this through the example of doves’ eyes.

Doves have monocular vision; they can only focus on one thing at a time, which is usually their mate. They’re called ‘love birds’ because they’re always watching each other. A couple of months ago, I saw a dove descend upon our deck’s railing. A few moments later its mate joined him. Then the first dove dropped to the deck and began to eat the spilled birdseed. Soon its mate followed suit. Their devotion to each other was undistracted. What one did, the other did.

Song of Songs 1:15 says, “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold thou art fair, thou hast dove’s eyes.” In this passage, God is implying His lover has eyes for only Him. She’s single focused, undistracted by other lovers. When He moves, she moves. What God does, she does. He is the only One she sees, thus she never loses her way.

How would your marriage relationship be if you were distracted by other lovers? What kind of message would it send to your spouse if you had other lovers which took your focus, time, and affection away from them? The distractions don’t have to be members of the opposite sex, but can be hobbies, work, or ministry. Just as our spouses desire us to have undivided hearts, so too does God want us to have eyes for only Him.

Don’t lose your balance or direction in your Christian walk with God. Use the dancers’ ‘spotting technique,’ and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus for your entire life. You won’t fall and you will stay on the right path, as you focus only on Jesus.

“Love has a clear eye; but it can see only one thing-it is blind to every interest but that of its Lord; it sees things in the light of his glory and weighs actions in the scales of his honor; it counts royalty but drudgery if it cannot reign for Christ, but it delights in servitude as much as in honor, if it can thereby advance the Master’s kingdom; its end sweetens all its means; its object lightens its toil and removes its weariness.”
Charles Spurgeon

Relevant Reflections:
1. Do you have doves’ eyes, having eyes only for God?
2. What distractions pull your focus away from God, causing you to lose balance?
3. How can you show God this week that you have undistracted devotion toward Him?