The Internet is a very revealing medium. Movie stars are toned and flawless on the screen, and then a picture shows up revealing them at the mall as frumpy and out of shape. A prize fighter is taut and muscled, only to surface on the beach with a protruding gut and soft arms.
Where did the toned, flawless, and taut celebrity go?
Other things became important to them, and they lost sight of their image.
The same thing happens in the spiritual world. Our intents are good, and for a time, we manage to be spiritually toned. We practice daily Bible reading and keep up our Sunday night attendance. Then something begins to slip. Our eyes wander from the prize.
The Scriptures reveal the disastrous results of letting our eyes wander from God’s prize.
The children of Israel struggled with maintaining their sanctity before the Lord. They were off chasing false gods as often as they held true to God’s plan.
In 1 Samuel 12 we read of yet again when the people had returned to God in their time of need, and he had come to their rescue. However, this time, they barely got the last sacrifice on the altar when they looked to the kings of other lands and decided they must have one of their own.
In Verses 11-25 the Lord gave them what they wanted, even though he knew it wasn’t what they needed. At the same time he promised he would bless them, as long as they kept their eyes on him. He also gave them a dire warning. If they turned to other gods, he would rake them with calamity.
Galatians 1:8 says we have been given God’s instructions, and we are not to deviate from his Word. We are to keep our eyes on the prize, for there is no other prize than Jesus Christ.
Look at the price the Israelites had to pay for their doubt when it came time to possess the Promised Land. God had a plan to move the Israelites from Egypt directly into the Promised Land. Two spies had faith, and ten lost sight of their goal. For their lack of faith, the children of Israel had to wander in the desert for forty years.
In Deuteronomy Moses finally told the people to go into the land, for the price they paid was enough.
An entirely different progression of events starts in Esther 1:22. The prize is life for an entire race of people, and to lose sight of the prize means ethnic cleansing.
The verse starts with the king sending a proclamation to every household in his land. His queen, Vashti, had spurned him, and soon he would be on the lookout for another.
God was the one managing the situation, though. He was bringing Esther into position to speak for her people. In Esther 8:4-6 we read that the king extended the gold scepter to Esther, and she pleaded her case before the king.
Esther risked her life for her people. She never took her eyes off the prize, and her reward was great.
When we turn from following Christ with our whole heart, disaster will come our way. However, if we keep our eyes on the prize, he will guide us safely home.
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