Looking Away and Looking Unto

From Isaac Ambrose in his book, Looking Unto Jesus:

“In the text [Hebrews 12:1 – 2] we have the act and object. The act in the original [Greek] is very emphatical, but the English doth not fully express it; it signifies a drawing of the eye from one object to another: there are two expressions; the one signifies a turning of the eye from all other objects; the other a fast fixing of the eye upon such an object, and only upon such. So it is both a looking off, and a looking on…This indeed is the glad tidings, the gospel, the gospel privilege, and our gospel duty –looking unto Jesus.”

Jesus tells us that if our eye is single that our whole body will be filled with light – surely our eye is to be centered on Him, surely He alone is to be the focus of our vision, the apple of our eye, the center of our heart’s desire.

And yet we seem to allow our vision to be drawn away from Him, allowing ourselves to substitute cheap imitations for Jesus Christ; we seem to insist that Jesus Christ is not enough, in and of Himself, to be our all in all.

And what of those who cling to Jesus? Those who love Jesus? Those who demonstrate no desire to know anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ as their Author and Finisher? We say that they are “simple”. We pity their backwardness. We shake our heads at their refusal to be more pragmatic and practical.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I think it was Paul who wrote, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”