Here's a nice little feature in Heb. 12:1-2. We are to "strip away" what's slowing us down and "look away" to Jesus. "Strip away" is clear enough. But the idea of looking "away" to Jesus gets lost in the shuffle.
The Greek term means more than merely "looking." It carries the idea of looking away from all other things and people who are distractions and who might keep us from focusing our full attention on the Lord. Wuest writes that the term means "to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something or someone." The idea is to allow Jesus to come into full focus. We might use the word "concentration." Concentration is a powerful state of focus. A number of examples come to mind:
- studying for a final exam.
- practicing scales as a musician.
- concentrating on the ball while dribbling during a basketball game.
- silencing notifications on your iphone.
- closing out apps on your computer that aren't essential.
- asking those around you not to distract you for a period of time.
We're talking here about an intentionally selective gaze. This involves (1) turning one's eyes away from competing sights, and (2) fastening attention on a single object. Hence my paraphrase of Heb. 12:1-2:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip AWAY every weight that is slowing us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us keep on running with endurance the particular race God has set before each and every one of us. We do this by looking AWAY from all that distracts us and focusing our full attention on Jesus, the Pacesetter and Perfecter of faith.
I love how one German translation renders the idea of looking away: "Dabei wollen wir nicht nach links oder rechts schauen, sondern allein auf Jesus." As Corrie ten Boom once said, "Look inside and be depressed. Look outside and be distressed. Look to him and be at rest."
Thank you, Corrie! Great advice!
