Tony Funderburk

Have you ever paid attention to the focus factor of a mother bird on her nest? It’s a wonderment. Because birds tend to move around. A lot. And super fast. But when the mother bird is on her nest, she can be so still you almost can’t see her.

I know, because there’s a small mother cardinal in a very small nest up inside our front porch area. And she’s nesting. And we have to really look closely to even see her. Because she basically doesn’t even flinch an inch.

That’s incredible built-in focus factor.

That’s right. I said “built-in.” Because birds (and you and I) don’t happen by accident.

Even as a boy, birds always fascinated me. So did cloud formations. And shooting stars in a sky full of blinking lights. I didn’t think about how my focus on things above me could keep my spirit uplifted. I just found it all so…well…fascinating.

There’s a verse in the Bible that says to “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Of course, that verse isn’t talking about birds or clouds or stars. Read one verse before that. And you’ll see that the writer referred to things far above. So far, in fact, that they’re found at the “right hand of God”. And my guess is, that’s a lot further, and possibly a lot closer, than we could ever imagine.

You might’ve noticed there’s a lot more stress in the world than there used to be. It really is a world full of what the Bible describes as “wars and rumors of wars,” and “nation rising up against nation.” And there really are famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in many different places.

If you focus on all the stressful things in the world, you can easily and quickly get discouraged. And you might even question the meaning for your life and the lives of the rest of the people on the planet.

That’s why God says to focus “on things above”.

Yeah, look up. Because, in spite of what most of the people in the world might tell you, this ultimate solution to this stressful world is your Creator.

Whether you believe in God or not, you’d better be right. Because there will be consequences either way. Believe God is a man-made myth and the consequences are total darkness. If you’re right. But believe God is your Creator, and that He loves you and wants you to be happy, and the consequences are faith, hope, love, and eternal life. If you’re right.

I fall into the second group. And I know most (if not all) my article and email readers do too. But maybe you’re someone still in the myth camp.

If so, I encourage you set aside your human bias for a bit. And open your mind to the possibility that the almost infinitely complex design in our universe points to an even more complex Designer. When you allow your mind to see that, your dead spirit can be reborn. And it’ll be much easier to look up and focus on things above.

But if that just sounds like more silliness from a corny Christian, then you myth the point.

So be patient; be wary.
Sing songs, and be merry.
Then focus your attention
On more than this world’s dimension!
(lyrics from the song, “Worldliness”)

Stay tuned,