Hebrews 12:1-3

My best friend in the second grade was Roger Carston.  We lived in rural northern Wisconsin and rode the school bus together every day.
There were two distinctive things I remember about Roger.  His father owned a mink ranch, so Roger sometimes wore a mink bow tie; and Roger was the only boy in the second grade with a visible Adam’s apple.  But he was my best friend.

Halloween in the second grade meant coming to school dressed in costumes.  In the afternoon we played games and ate treats.  Roger and I were looking forward to that!

Before the first game, our teacher divided the class into two groups and, one-by-one, we were to select a game partner from the other group.  When it was my turn, everyone assumed I would choose Roger.  But while I was waiting my turn to choose, I couldn’t take my eyes off Mary Schaack!

Mary was the prettiest girl in the class and for Halloween she was dressed as a fairy princess.  Her blonde hair was in ringlets and in her princess dress she was beautiful!  I was dressed as Bugs Bunny and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

So, when my turn came to select a partner, I paused, looked at Roger, looked at Mary, and said, “I choose…Mary.”  There was a chorus of “ooooo’s,” and as I passed by Roger, he said, “What happened?”  I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “I don’t know.”  For the rest of the afternoon, it was the princess and the bunny.

Well, our friendship withstood my wandering eye and Roger and I continued to be best friends until the day he moved away two years later.  It’s just a humorous memory now, but I can still remember how shocked I was at myself for betraying my best friend like that.  What had happened?

I had let my eye wander.  I had allowed a beautiful princess to divert my attention from my true friend.  It’s very similar, isn’t it, to the sin that so easily entangles us as we try to run the race that is our Christian life.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to not get side-tracked by the things of this world.  “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Yes, the things of this world may catch your eye from time to time, but don’t let them grab your attention and affection.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus so you can claim your share in Christ’s joy – His eternal throne.