Where is Your Focus?

Acts 1:6-11

I remember this one time that I was supposed to do a partner project in school. We had to choose a story from the book of Judges to analyze using all sorts of interpretation tools, then we had to present our work to the class with a PowerPoint. The day was nearing to give our presentation, and my partner and I were meeting to put all of our work together in PowerPoint. What did our first hour consist of? My friend deciding on the background and font that he wanted to use. He wanted the presentation to have a certain “look.” I barely contained my fury at what a waste of time this was.
I should not be so hard on my friend. Each of us, at one time or another, gets to a point where we fixate on what is not important in the moment. Maybe we lose sight of the big picture and focus instead on the details. Details can be important, but if they keep you from completing the work then they become pointless. As a detail-oriented person, this happens to me much more frequently than I care to admit. Alternatively, it may be that we focus on some element of the project which is somebody else’s responsibility and forget to take care of our part. It is important to focus on first things first and care for the rest later.
This inordinate fixation on what is not important in the moment is what leads to the disciples twice being chided in this passage. First, they ask Jesus if he is about to fulfill their messianic hopes for Israel. Jesus replies that it is none of their business; the Father will take care of it. Second, the disciples are gazing into the heavens as they watch Jesus ascend. Two men, whom we assume to be angels, ask why they are looking into heaven. The implication is that this is not what the disciples should be doing. Jesus will come back at the proper time, regardless of them standing there. In a matter of moments, the disciples are told not to worry about the end times (when God will set things right) nor about the things of heaven and Jesus’ return. Those things simply do not concern them.
What should be the disciples’ concern? “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (1:8). Rather than being concerned about the future or the things above, the disciples are to be concerned about the here and the now. God has given them work to do: telling about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are the messengers sent out, the leading envoys announcing what God has done and how he is coming again to claim his kingdom in full. As John the Baptist prepared the way before Jesus’ first coming, so now his disciples are to prepare the way before Jesus’ second coming.
This is true for us as well. Sure, we long for the day of Jesus’ return, the Day when God will make all things right. We yearn for the life of heaven where there will be no more sorrow or pain, where we can enjoy intimate union with God forever. What wonderful things those will be when they happen! For now, though, we are not meant to fixate on those things. God has given us work to do, to be his witnesses in the world. If we spend too much time daydreaming about our future lives in heaven, then we will forget to attend to the work which lies before us. Let us stop looking into the clouds and put our hands to work. -TL

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