One Thing

“One Thing.”  Is there a sense of focus and priority about how your life is going?  Or are you just ambling along, reacting to any ping or tweet or push notification or breaking news that comes your way?

Consider three biblical passages about “one thing”:

• David declares, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
• Jesus tells busy Martha, “One thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42), referring to the “good portion” that her sister Mary had chosen by opting not to help serve their guests but insted “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.”
• The Apostle Paul describes his relentless pursuit of Christ, “One thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Today, perhaps as much as in any era, we’re tempted to lose focus and scatter our thoughts and energies all over the place as we ride the wild waves of the Coronavirus age.  And so today, as much as ever, we need God’s strong, loving admonition to focus on One Thing.

And just to be clear, that’s a charge to Christians.  It’s not just non-believers who should take to heart the claims of Christ—necessary as that is.  Believers, followers of Jesus, need to practice the joy-giving discipline of focusing their lives—our lives—on One Thing.

For David, priority one was to “gaze upon” God—to center his heart and mind on the glorious, beautiful character of the Lord.  “Looking” with spiritual eyes means devoting quality time and energy to the worship of God—even worship through silent prayer as you go about your work or studies, your daily duties.  I like the way they put it in the old musical, “Godspell”:  “To see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly, follow Thee more nearly day by day.”

For exasperated Martha, the good had become an enemy of the best.  It’s a good thing, of course, to expend our energies to serve guests and practice hospitality.  But there’s a time to drop everything and fix your attention firmly on the divine Son of God.  The pots and pans can wait; the laundry and lawn mowing can wait.  Get with Jesus!

And for Paul, thanks to God’s gracious intervention to save his soul and transform his life, even his stellar résumé as a devout Pharisee and his impeccable record of law-keeping were but “rubbish” compared to knowing and gaining and being found in Christ.  His heart was overtaken by the all-satisfying wonder of belonging to the Lord and walking daily in close communion with his Savior.  If he had Jesus, he had enough.

One Thing.  And take note:  this is the normal Christian life.  I’m not describing an option for elite believers or a path for fanatics.  Healthy, authentic, ordinary Christian living involves focusing (and re-focusing) our lives day by day and week by week, all the way home to heaven.  To say it the other way around, calling yourself a Christian but living in such a way that Jesus is routinely marginal in your thinking and has no hold upon your heart—living in such a way that other “gods” clearly take center-stage in your life—that just makes no sense.  It’s not the life of faith we learn from the Bible.

So let’s all do some spiritual inventory.  A few questions:  **What “lesser things” are we tempted to cherish?  **How would our use of time or spending habits or thought patterns answer if asked what appear to be our greatest longings and fears?  **Are we confessing the sin of turning to false “gods,” and are we honoring the True Lord by prioritizing worship and prayer and following Jesus in every-day situations?  **Would those who know us well testify that it’s clear we live for One Thing—we’re people joyfully taken by One Thing?

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46).  One pearl, priceless treasure, worth everything!  Is that how your heart responds to King Jesus and the wonder of sharing in his eternal reign of love?