“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21, NIV
If you have ever witnessed a baby learning to walk, observing such an exercise stirs an array of emotions for both the child and the onlooker. When my children and grandchildren grew brave enough to take that first step, I hovered close by, holding my breath with not a little anxiety mixed with a lot of pride on behalf of my offspring. Ready, steady…YES! And, they were off, and before long, they were running too fast to catch them.
Taking that first step required deep concentration on the part of the child. For a few weeks, each step took a deliberate attention to memory and then, mental, and physical effort to repeat moving one foot in front of the other. After a few months, however, the exercise that had once been difficult, no longer required such mechanical effort. Leaning any new skill, regardless of age, takes concentration. At the moment, I am refreshing the art of hand-quilting, which I learned many years ago but have grown rusty; taking it up again means added attention to the fine details needed to produce a nice finish.
Forty years ago, when I first gave my whole heart to Jesus Christ, I read, studied, and spent almost every waking hour thinking about Jesus. Never had I felt so completely loved and in love than in this relationship with the Savior. My Savior. As I said, forty years have passed. From time to time, I have found myself taking this precious relationship for granted. My attention can easily be distracted by the things of this world. People, life-challenges, demands on my time. Progress in nurturing the sweetest relationship I have ever known, with Jesus, is at a deficit. Oh, He has not left me in these times, rather, I have been lured by “treasures” in other places.
Like the baby learning to walk, or like relearning an old skill, I want my attention to be heart-focused on the most important activity in my life…being with Jesus. I wonder friend, can you identify with my dilemma? If so, begin now. Jesus is cheering you on. Take that first step. He will catch you if you fall.