Lesson 10: How to Keep Your Eyes on Jesus Christ
After surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, an important question remains:
Where will you keep looking?
Your life may belong to Christ, yet your attention can still become scattered. Your mind may become occupied with yourself, other people, changing circumstances, regrets, expectations, or the constant noise around you.
The danger is not always that you openly reject Jesus. Sometimes the danger is that He slowly moves from the center of your attention to the edge.
Scripture gives the disciple a clear direction:
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
— Hebrews 12:2, KJV
Those words describe more than a passing glance.
Looking unto Jesus means that He remains the fixed point of the Christian life. He is the One you trust, follow, depend upon, and return to when your attention begins to wander.
You began with Jesus Christ.
You must continue with Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ Is Not Merely the Beginning
Some people appear to treat Jesus as the doorway into Christianity, but then allow other things to become the center of their spiritual lives.
They may become more occupied with religious knowledge than with Christ.
They may become more impressed by a preacher than by Christ.
They may become more concerned with their own spiritual performance than with Christ.
They may talk continually about churches, doctrines, controversies, experiences, or other believers while giving surprisingly little attention to the Lord Himself.
Sound doctrine matters. Obedience matters. The church matters. Spiritual growth matters. But none of these should replace Jesus Christ as the center.
Paul wrote:
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
— Colossians 1:18, KJV
To have the preeminence means to have first place.
Jesus must not merely be included somewhere in your life. He must remain above everything else.
The purpose of discipleship is not to become fascinated with discipleship itself. The purpose is to follow Jesus Christ.
The goal is not merely to complete one hundred lessons.
The goal is to know, love, trust, obey, and continue following the Lord to whom every lesson points.
What Does It Mean to Look Unto Jesus?
Hebrews 12 presents the Christian life as a race:
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”
— Hebrews 12:1–2, KJV
A runner must know where he is going.
If he constantly looks behind him, he cannot run properly. If he is preoccupied with the people beside him, his direction may change. If his attention is captured by the crowd, he may lose sight of the course.
The disciple also needs a fixed direction.
Looking unto Jesus means that your confidence is not resting ultimately in yourself.
It means that another person’s faithfulness or failure does not determine whether you will continue.
It means that circumstances are not permitted to become greater in your sight than the Lord.
It means that when your attention moves away from Christ, you deliberately turn it back.
This does not mean that a Christian never notices anything else. You must fulfill responsibilities, care for people, make decisions, recognize problems, and live faithfully in the real world.
Keeping your eyes on Jesus does not mean becoming unaware of life.
It means that everything else is seen under His lordship.
You face responsibility as someone following Christ.
You deal with people as someone following Christ.
You make choices as someone following Christ.
You experience success or disappointment without allowing either one to replace Christ at the center.
Do Not Make Yourself the Center
One of the easiest places to look is inward.
There is a proper place for examining yourself. Scripture commands believers to do so. But self-examination can become unhealthy self-occupation.
A person can spend so much time measuring himself that he rarely looks beyond himself.
He continually asks:
“Am I strong enough?”
“Am I growing quickly enough?”
“Why do I still struggle?”
“Why am I not like someone else?”
“What if I fail?”
Even sincere concern about spiritual growth can turn into constant self-focus.
When you believe you are doing well, self-focus may produce pride.
When you see weakness, it may produce despair.
In both cases, self has become the center.
Hebrews does not tell us to run the race by looking unto ourselves. It tells us to look unto Jesus, who is “the author and finisher of our faith.”
Your hope does not rest in your ability to impress God.
Your confidence does not come from pretending you have no weakness.
Your answer is not to ignore sin, excuse failure, or avoid honest examination. Your answer is to bring the truth about yourself into the presence of Christ.
When you see weakness, look to His strength.
When you see sin, respond to His call to repent.
When you realize how much you still need to learn, remain at His feet.
When you have taken a faithful step, give Him the glory.
You are not the author of your faith.
You are not its final object.
Jesus Christ is.
Do Not Build Your Walk on Other People
Peter once turned his attention toward another disciple and asked Jesus:
“Lord, and what shall this man do?”
Jesus answered:
“If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.”
— John 21:21–22, KJV
Christ brought Peter’s attention back to his own responsibility:
“Follow thou me.”
It is easy to become occupied with what someone else is doing.
You may compare your progress with another believer.
You may wonder why another person’s path appears easier.
You may feel inferior to someone whose gifts are more visible.
You may become proud because another person appears weaker.
You may allow someone’s failure to shake your confidence in Christ.
You may become so dependent upon a respected leader that your spiritual stability begins resting on that person.
God can use faithful believers to teach, encourage, correct, and strengthen us. Good examples should be appreciated. But no human being can take the place that belongs to Jesus Christ.
People can misunderstand.
People can disappoint.
People can change.
People can fail.
Jesus Christ remains faithful.
Peter was not responsible for controlling John’s path. Peter was responsible for following Jesus.
You are not called to imitate every detail of another person’s journey. You are called to hear Christ’s command and follow Him faithfully.
When comparison begins controlling your attention, remember:
“What is that to thee? follow thou me.”
Do Not Let Circumstances Define Your View of Christ
Circumstances change continually.
Some days bring relief. Other days bring pressure.
Plans work, and plans fail.
Doors open, and doors close.
People encourage you, and people disappoint you.
If your view of Jesus is controlled by the events of the day, your faith will become unstable.
You may believe He is good when life feels pleasant but question His goodness when life becomes painful.
You may feel close to Him when everything appears clear but assume He has left when you do not understand what is happening.
Jesus Christ does not change with your circumstances.
His character is not rewritten by your feelings.
His authority is not weakened by difficulty.
His faithfulness is not cancelled because you cannot see what He is doing.
The disciples once faced a violent storm while Jesus was with them in the ship. The storm was real, but so was His presence. Their fear caused them to interpret the situation as though He did not care.
They said:
“Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
— Mark 4:38, KJV
Jesus had not stopped caring. Their circumstances had clouded their view of Him.
This lesson does not attempt to explain every trial or teach everything Scripture says about fear. Those subjects will receive their own careful attention later.
The point here is simpler:
Do not allow a changing circumstance to become your definition of an unchanging Christ.
When you cannot understand the situation, return to what Scripture has already revealed about Him.
He is Lord.
He is faithful.
He is wise.
He is present with His people.
He is worthy of trust.
Your circumstances may change quickly. Jesus Christ does not.
Remember Who You Are Looking To
Hebrews 12:2 does not merely tell us to look. It tells us whom we are looking to.
He Is the Author of Our Faith
Jesus is not a spectator standing at the end of the race. He is the author—the One from whom our faith begins.
You did not invent the gospel.
You did not provide your own Saviour.
You did not make yourself alive.
Salvation is found in Jesus Christ.
The faith that begins by depending upon Him must continue by depending upon Him.
He Is the Finisher of Our Faith
Jesus does not begin a work and then become unable to complete what He intends.
This does not give anyone permission to become careless, passive, or disobedient. Rather, it keeps the disciple from placing ultimate confidence in human strength.
The One who called you to follow is able to supply what is needed for faithful obedience.
Look to Him not only for the beginning, but for the whole course.
He Endured the Cross
Jesus did not call His followers to a path He was unwilling to walk.
He endured rejection, shame, suffering, and the cross.
When following Him costs you something, remember that you are looking to the One who first gave Himself for you.
The cross shows both the seriousness of sin and the greatness of His love.
Do not allow the death of Christ to become a distant fact that no longer moves your heart.
He Is Seated at the Right Hand of God
Jesus Christ did not remain in the grave.
He rose again and is seated at the right hand of God.
You are not looking to a defeated teacher from the past. You are following the living and exalted Lord.
The world may appear disorderly, but Christ has not lost His throne.
People may reject Him, but their rejection does not diminish His authority.
Your feelings may rise and fall, but Jesus Christ remains who He is.
Keep your eyes on the crucified, risen, and reigning Lord.
Recognize When Your Attention Has Shifted
Most believers do not announce, “I have decided to stop looking to Jesus.”
The movement is often quieter than that.
Your attention slowly becomes dominated by something else.
You may know that your focus has shifted when:
- you think more about what others think of you than what Christ has commanded;
- your peace rises and falls entirely with circumstances;
- you compare your path continually with someone else’s;
- your failures occupy your thoughts more than the mercy and authority of Christ;
- religious activity continues, but personal affection for Jesus grows faint;
- you speak often about Christian subjects but rarely think deeply about Christ Himself;
- one problem becomes so large in your mind that it appears greater than the Lord.
These signs should not lead you into panic or hopelessness. They should lead you to turn.
The answer to wandering attention is not endless condemnation.
The answer is to look again.
Turn Your Attention Back to Christ
Keeping your eyes on Jesus does not mean your attention will never drift. It means you refuse to remain turned away.
When you realize that something else has taken the central place, respond honestly.
Name What Has Captured Your Attention
Do not hide behind vague language.
Is it another person’s opinion?
Your own failure?
A desire for recognition?
An unanswered question?
A particular problem?
Your plans for the future?
Bring the real distraction into the light.
Remember What Is True About Jesus
Do not allow the loudest thought in your mind to become the final authority.
Return to what God has revealed about His Son.
Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is faithful.
Jesus is the author and finisher of faith.
Jesus endured the cross.
Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus reigns.
Hear His Call Again
Christ’s words to Peter still give clear direction:
“Follow thou me.”
You may not know everything that will happen next.
You may not be able to solve every problem immediately.
You may still feel the pull of distraction.
But you can turn toward Christ and take the next faithful step He has made clear.
Looking unto Jesus is not merely an inward feeling. It produces continued following.
Consider Him
The verse after Hebrews 12:2 says:
“For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
— Hebrews 12:3, KJV
To consider Jesus means to give serious attention to Him.
Think about His faithfulness.
Remember His words.
Consider His patience.
Remember His obedience to the Father.
Consider how He responded to rejection.
Remember His compassion toward the broken and His firmness toward hypocrisy.
Consider the cross.
Remember the resurrection.
The heart grows spiritually weak when everything except Christ fills its vision.
You cannot remove every distraction from the world around you, but you can refuse to let those distractions possess the center of your heart.
Set the Lord before you.
David wrote:
“I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
— Psalm 16:8, KJV
That was a deliberate direction of attention:
“I have set the LORD always before me.”
A Simple Focus Check
Before moving to the next lesson, answer these questions honestly:
What has received most of my inward attention lately?
Has Jesus Christ remained central, or has something else begun occupying His place?
Am I measuring my walk by comparison with another person?
Have I allowed a circumstance to distort what I believe about Christ?
What truth about Jesus do I need to remember today?
This is not an invitation to stare endlessly at yourself. It is a brief examination meant to help you turn your attention back to the Lord.
Discipleship Questions
- What does Hebrews 12:2 mean when it tells believers to look unto Jesus?
- How can excessive attention to yourself weaken your focus on Christ?
- What do Jesus’ words, “What is that to thee? follow thou me,” teach about comparison?
- Why must changing circumstances never become the measure of Christ’s faithfulness?
- What has most often competed for the center of your attention?
Closing Exhortation
Jesus Christ must remain the center of the Christian life.
Do not make yourself the center.
Do not build your faith upon another person.
Do not allow today’s circumstances to define the unchanging Lord.
When your attention drifts, turn again.
Look to the One who called you.
Look to the One who endured the cross.
Look to the One who rose from the dead.
Look to the One who reigns.
Look to the One who is both the author and finisher of faith.
You do not need to understand every part of the road before you take the next step.
You need to hear His voice:
“Follow thou me.”
A Prayer to Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are worthy to have first place in my life. Forgive me for allowing myself, other people, circumstances, and distractions to occupy the attention that belongs to You.
Help me recognize when my focus has shifted. Keep me from building my confidence upon myself or any other person.
When I see my weakness, turn my eyes toward Your strength. When circumstances change, remind me that You remain faithful. When I begin comparing my path with someone else’s, help me hear Your words: “Follow thou me.”
Thank You for enduring the cross, rising from the dead, and reigning at the right hand of God.
Teach me to consider You, trust You, and continue following You.
Keep Jesus Christ at the center of my attention, affection, confidence, and hope.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Next Step
Identify the one thing that has most often drawn your attention away from Jesus Christ.
Write it down plainly.
Then write one truth about Jesus that answers that distraction.
For example:
“My attention has been controlled by another person’s approval. Jesus Christ is my Lord, and I must follow Him.”
“My attention has been controlled by my failure. Jesus Christ calls me to respond rightly and continue following Him.”
“My attention has been controlled by circumstances. Jesus Christ remains faithful even when circumstances change.”
Return to that truth whenever your attention begins drifting again.
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