“From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 CEB
Paul is concluding his letter to the church in Philippi with this encouragement for them to focus on things that are excellent, admirable, true, holy, just, lovely, pure and worthy of praise. He is doing this because they were some members who were focused on conflict, what each one thought was the correct way to be a church. Paul is telling them to stop focusing on what is here on earth, all of the hatred, division and conflict and focus on what Jesus has taught. He is encouraging members to help remember the foundation that Jesus laid for our relationship with God and others. Help others to see this as that is what they should be focused on.
When we become a Christian, it is easy to get caught up in the emotion of it all. We are saved and we are excited about it, our fear of spending eternity separated from God is gone. However that emotion tends to fade as we move back into our normal everyday lives and encounter those around us who are not Christians. When those moments come, and they will, where we begin to doubt what we have committed to doing – living for Christ – this verse is a powerful reminder of what we should be focused on instead.
Christ’s journey, life and ministry were all excellent, admirable, true, holy, just, pure, lovely and worthy of praise. The foundation He laid is what we are to build on to grow in our walk with Him. We are to mature in our faith, not remain infants who need bottle feed everything that we should be doing. By beginning to focus on these things, we begin to soak in all of what Jesus is about.
What do you focus on? Is it time for a shift in your focus?