Fully Focused (Friday Devotional)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer 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 an NBA Finals game, there’s a lot to see. There are thousands of fans cheering, jeering, waving, drinking, and chatting with their neighbors. There is the endless stream of colorful graphics and videos on the electronic scoreboard above midcourt. There are the coaches frantically running up and down the sidelines, the bench mob cheering on their teammates, and the media members making sense of it all for the television audience back home. And, of course, there is the game happening on the court—ten professional basketball players setting screens, drawing fouls, corralling rebounds, and driving to the paint.

Jim Vanderford has been to every NBA Finals since 2007, but he’s missed out on seeing a lot of what I just described. That’s because, as a camera operator for ABC and ESPN, he’s had one job during the Finals for the past decade: pointing the camera at LeBron James. In a star-driven league, the networks know that missing a key moment from basketball’s biggest star would be professional malpractice on their part, so Vanderford’s job is simple—whether LeBron is dunking, shooting, passing, barking instructions to teammates in the huddle, or sipping Gatorade on the bench, Jim Vanderford gets it on film. He never allows the camera’s gaze to wander to any of King James’s teammates, coaches, or opponents, nor to anything happening in the stands. No matter what else is happening around him, he is locked on LeBron.

Hebrews 12:2 calls us to that kind of single-minded focus when it comes to faith in Christ. Like a Finals game, the world is packed with sights and sounds that pull our attention away from God. Idols, though no longer towering over us as statues of wood and bronze, are just as real today as in the days of the Israelites. Every day we are tempted by the siren calls of power, wealth, and renown.

But in the face of all these attractions and distractions, Scripture calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus. For all the lures that earthly idols have, they cannot offer the salvation he gave us on the cross; they cannot promise the life with God which is our reward in Christ. Idols demand your attention, your time, and even your soul, but they ultimately offer little in return.

Every moment you have a choice where to turn your attention, your faith, and your love. So with the kind of focus that would do Jim Vanderford proud, fix your eyes on the one who matters most.