On the occasion of the 2024 solar eclipse, a lot of excitement became stirred up by news people, educators and scientists. Folks traveled great distances to areas within its main path, called the area of totality. My home was far away, so a mere dimming of the light in the morning was my only expectation.
However, the whole idea of eclipsing in general gained my attention. How do I eclipse my view of the S-o-n, not sun. I know that there are times when I allow my focus on self to do that. How often do I focus on the impact Jesus has had on my life? Can I even imagine my life without Him. No hope of heaven, no savior who died on my behalf. No hope for connecting with God the Father or receiving the Spirit as my guide and counselor.
Other obstacles to my focus on Jesus could be listed: pride, hatred, fear, worry, etc. Any number of familiar attitudes and behaviors, addictions, denials, laziness, disobedience.
Let’s switch our negative focus to what manifests our relationship with the Son of God. My pastor just started a series on relationships. His main point was that to have good horizontal relationships, we must first focus on the vertical one with God. It can’t help but spill over from our connection with the Triune God to becoming a more concerned and caring neighbor, friend, family member or sister or brother in Christ. After all, how can we possibly show our love for others better than the way we are loved by the one who created them? God has everything He ever wanted or needed, so a gift to Him must be directed to one another, in obedience to His instructions for life.
So, in place of all those nasty things mentioned before, the reverse is all things that are godly: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In other words, the fruit of the Spirit.
In conclusion, don’t let the view of the Son be eclipsed by evil, or the ungodly. As we concentrate on God, we become more godly and thus more kind and loving to our neighbors. God in us eclipses all blockage (or eclipses) to our view of Him. Isn’t it interesting that the horizontal intersecting with the vertical forms a cross?