Eyes Fixed Ahead

Eyes Fixed Ahead

[Jesus said,] “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:62

I once spent time mentoring a young woman who at age eighteen was living with her boyfriend and had two children when God transformed her life. She and her boyfriend got married, and the next day they attended church and dedicated their lives to the Lord. They’ve never looked back. Nearly nine years have passed, and they are active in church. They also reach out to other young parents. They know what it’s like to be lost—and to be found. They are working on earth to share the Good News while also trusting their lives—and their eternities—to God.

If you’ve ever visited an Amish community, you may have seen farmers preparing the soil for sowing seed. They still plow behind a team of horses and mules. This is not an easy task. It takes focus, perseverance, and manpower in addition to horse power. To obtain a straight row, one must fix his gaze on a distant object and keep looking ahead.

Jesus knew that to be His followers, we could not continue forward as His disciples while looking back to our old religious practices and ways of life. The apostle Paul spoke of the same thing: “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Keeping our gaze fixed ahead is not easy. There is nothing sensational or awe-inspiring about the simple steps of daily faithfulness—at least not to us. We want fireworks and dazzle, but God desires simple, daily, obedient steps. We want to rush ahead, but God longs to lead us one step at a time. Desires to lead you one step at a time. Will you follow Him?

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your transforming power. Help me to fix my gaze ahead and never look back.