“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; 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.”
Your focus determines your impact.
Flight 401 was bound for Miami from New York City with a load of holiday passengers. As the huge aircraft approached the Miami Airport for its landing, a light that indicates proper deployment of the landing gear failed to come on. The plane flew in a large, looping circle over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked out the light failure. Their question was this, had the landing gear actually not deployed or was it just the light bulb that was defective?
To begin with, the flight engineer fiddled with the bulb. He tried to remove it, but it wouldn’t budge. Another member of the crew tried to help out…and then another. By and by, if you can believe it, all eyes were on the little light bulb that refused to be dislodged from its socket. No one noticed that the plane was losing altitude. Finally, it dropped right into a swamp. Many were killed in that plane crash. While an experienced crew of high-priced and seasoned pilots messed around with a seventy-five-cent light bulb, an entire airplane and many of its passengers were lost.
Isn’t it amazing that in the midst of the situation, not one person felt the plane diving or saw it getting closer to the ground? I don’t know about you, but I would have been yelling and screaming for the pilot to focus on flying the plane rather than staring at the little light!
As we approach the holiday season several little lights will come into your life. Lights that at other times of the year may go unnoticed. There’s shopping for gifts, decorating the house, planning vacation, baking holiday goodies, attending school and church programs, and so on. These little “lights” can draw your attention away from the true meaning of the season.
Be careful of what you focus on this holiday season. It is a fun time of year! Our focus should be on Christ and the birth of our Saviour more than on presents and fun times. (From Daily in the Word)
