Looking Intently

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:10

Looking Intently

by Robert T. Cooper

According to Dictionary.com, the word intent means “firmly or steadfastly fixed or directed.” Acts 1:10 makes the point that the apostles were looking intently into the sky as Jesus ascended. As a result, two men joined the group without being noticed until they spoke. That’s pretty focused!



But this is not the first time the apostles had their eyes firmly and steadfastly fixed on Jesus. It had been their custom for over three years to keep their eyes on Him. They weren’t looking intently because they had never seen an ascension before. They were looking intently because it was Jesus.

Now, the Holy Spirit must enable our eyes and our understanding if we are to see Jesus Christ at work in our daily lives and in the world around us. We must be watching for Him. Once we see Him, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Once I served a church in another part of the country. Certain events occurred in the life of that church. Some young adults came to me one day saying that they were amazed for they saw the Scriptures being fulfilled in these events. They were seeing Christ at work in the events. However, it seems those young adults did not keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, for they did not continue to see Christ at work nor did it have any impact on their own consequent behavior.

God moves across the stage of modern politics (that which will in a few days be considered history). Sometimes we see Jesus Christ at work in this or that. Yet we must stay focused to follow the continuity.

God moves through what happens in weather: rain, sun, storms, and more. Sometimes televangelists are unwise in what they say about such things and in how they express what they say. Yet we know that God reveals Himself through nature. Sometimes we can see Jesus Christ at work in one way or another. But we must look intently as we do so. Practice helps. That is why some include time meditating on the observation of nature as a spiritual discipline.

God moves through our finances, our health, our relationships, and more. Sometimes we see Him as The Lord our Provider, sometimes as The Lord our Healer, and sometimes we don’t quite have a ready name for Him as He is engaged in our daily lives. One must keep a sharp eye to see how His activity relates to His plan to grow each of us in Christlikeness. After all, it is our relationship with Him that is ultimately important.

Where is Jesus around you right now? Look intently. He isn’t going away, but you will lose sight of Him if you aren’t intentional about it.

Share a story of a time you or someone around you reported seeing Jesus at work.