Recall a time when you lost sight of Jesus. Whenever we focus on our troubles, we take our eyes off Jesus and become blind to what He’s doing to help us. Spiritual growth means improving our self-control so that we focus on Jesus no matter what’s happening. The sooner we remember to do this, the sooner we see Him again.
When work or our ministry preoccupies us, remember that Jesus is beside us, instructing us in what to do, how to do it, and how to be a witness of his love and truth. Losing sight of Jesus makes us vulnerable to sin. Then, when we get in touch with our sins and realize that we’ve crucified Christ by hurting others and ourselves, we truly do mourn and weep, as Jesus prophesied in this Gospel reading. But notice that He added: “You will grieve for a time, but your grief will be turned into joy.” What is it that is grieving us now? Where is our joy lacking? Why are we lacking it? How can our grief be turned into joy?
When we deny our need for forgiveness or after seeking it we deny that we have been forgiven, we lose the joy of our salvation. Likewise, when we look to externals for our joy, we lose the gift of joy that Jesus has given us. Only by seeing Jesus as the true source of joy can we find hope and healing and lasting happiness. Only by noticing how Jesus handled life can we develop the right attitudes about our own life. Only by observing why Jesus was glad to suffer for the sake of others can we find blessings in our sufferings.
Have we lost sight of Jesus? Look again. Keep our eyes on Jesus, but when we have to look at others, or things or events or whatever, see them through his eyes!
