In both my writing and speaking events, I often talk about the importance of having and maintaining a correct "
front sight focus
." In our police and military combat world, we understand the deadly physical force implications of having a clear front sight picture on the target or threat (and the consequences of losing that focus).
Expanding on this, the Navy SEALs have taken the
front sight focus
concept and expanded it to their plan to achieve success both on and off the battlefield.
Likewise, this concept has powerful application for our walk as
Christians
(Is that you?) servant-warriors. Let's break it down:
Hebrews 12:1-12
just happens to be one of my favorite passages of Scripture in light of the fact that I can be easily distracted more often than I like to admit. Even as I write this study, my mind keeps wandering off and thinking about some of the current situations and projects around me (work, family, ministry, advancing age, etc.). Sadly, sometimes these distractions can become a tool of the enemy to take our eyes off the focus and
pursuit
of Christ in all areas of our lives.
With this in mind, one of the reasons I like this passage of Scripture so much is that it helps me re-
focus
my attention (my
sight
picture) back on Jesus. But why is this so important? Friends, for the Christian, taking our eyes off Jesus is the most
danger
ous thing we could ever do. Paradoxically, it can also be the easiest. We can let past hurts (divorce, the loss of a brother/sister officer, "the job"), troubles (PTSD, "the job" in general), the "storms" of life and even good things like ministry distract us from the ultimate prize, which is Christ alone.
Danger? What happens when we lose our front sight focus on the range or in a deadly force encounter? We miss! Now on the range, a miss might only mean a lower score or a having to re-qualify. But a miss in combat could mean the difference between living or dying for ourselves and/or others.
The concept applies in athletics as well. As a competitive lifter, I would focus on a tiny spot on the wall during a major lift and allowing anything to distract me from that focus point could result in a failed attempt.
Likewise, spiritually speaking (as we'll see in some of the examples I've shared below), losing front sight focus on Jesus is a tool the enemy uses to take us down some very rough and dangerous roads.
So what is the application for us here? For starters, the enemy will use our old, fleshly natures to interfere with any attempt to remain faithful to the Savior. We can forget that our reward is Christ Himself and wander off into the vain pursuit of other things. We can allow the cares of this world to push us away from the Lord instead of looking to Him in the midst of our pain, trials and difficulties.
As we focus on our Savior and His endurance for our sake, He will enable us to
press
on towards the prize and finish the
race
(battles) of this life --
Philippians 3:14
.
The remainder of the book of
Hebrews
focuses on those things that can be done to prepare (
train
) us for the battles that will come our way. As we follow the commands given to the author by the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit will work through us and help us to cling to Jesus (to keep our eyes
front sight focused
on Him).
So now with this foundation in mind, let's take a brief look at some examples of some "heroes of the faith" who
lost
their front sight focus.
First, turn to
Matthew 14:22-31
.
In this passage, we read about the time when a great storm hit the sea, and yet Jesus walked to His disciples on the rough water. Jesus had sent them out into the bad weather. The problem was the storm. But when Jesus came to the disciples, He walked on top of the very problem itself. Without getting rid of the storm, He overcame it. He overpowered it.
Peter was only able to overcome it himself when he kept his eyes
front sight focused
on Jesus.
He asked
(God's will vs. his own) if he could come out on the water, too, and as long as he maintained his focus on Jesus, he was fine. But when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused instead on the storm (tumultuous circumstances) that surrounded him, Peter began to sink.
Only
when Peter adjusted his focus back on Jesus did he receive the divine intervention he desperately needed (Jesus helped Peter up out of the raging sea).
Then we have Paul expounding further on this concept as he writes to the Christians in Corinth: "
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified"
(
1 Corinthians 2:2
). Later, in the last days before he was executed for his faith, Paul's eyesight had grown dim (he was imprisoned in a dark, dank dungeon) but he never lost his clear, front sight focus on Christ!
Our
Captain (Commander)
also gives us some powerful but sad lessons on what happens when we take our focus off Him. Here are just two examples (there are many others) for us to look at:
(1)
Samson
: In
Judges 13-16
, we have the story of a real-life "Superman" in Samson. While I have taught on this subject many times, let it suffice for this study to state that Samson (like me and a whole lot of other cops), got in trouble when he took his "front
sight
focus" off the true source of his strength and power. What were his distractions? Like many of us, alcohol, sex (women) and, most of all, pride. The consequences? He lost his strength, his
eyes
(sight) and ultimately his life (albeit God still used Samson for His glory and purpose).
(2)
David
: When King David's eyes (attention) were focused on God, he had great success. No doubt it was that same focus that God used to give David the accuracy to sink a stone into Goliath's forehead (
1 Samuel 17
). Sadly, David all-too-often lost that front sight focus (pride, women, etc.). The most famous example is of course his disastrous affair with
Bathsheba in 2 Samuel
: David allowed the enemy to take his focus off God and onto a kind of porn (lust) based temptation leading to a host of other sins. While David and Bathsheba (and their family) suffered some just but very tragic consequences for their sin, David ultimately repented and placed his focus back on God (praise the Lord -- hope for all of us in that).
Understand that David, being
a man after God's own heart
(
1 Samuel 13:14
), was both acutely aware of both the enemies (physical and spiritual) who sought to destroy him AND his own tendency to fall into temptation and sin. In fact, he writes about this in
Psalm 141
:8
"
But my
eyes
are
fixed on You
, Sovereign Lord; in You I take refuge
"
(added emphasis mine)
So what is the lesson for us in all this? God is calling us to surrender to Him in faith and thereby obtain a clear, fixed
front sight focus
on His Son, Jesus Christ. Let me be clear, with the proper sight picture, the front sight should be clear while the target itself is slightly blurry. Folks,
the front sight is Christ Himself
, while the target (world, storms, enemy) should be blurry!
Will trials, storms and problems still come our way? Will we still mess up when we allow distractions to take our focus off of Him (becoming a Christian won't make us sinless but the true believer
will
sin less)? Yes, but He is true to forgive and restore us when we regain the proper sight picture on Him!
In closing, let's look again to Peter: note that Jesus had not moved or otherwise caused Peter to sink. On the contrary, Peter's focus changed when he allowed himself to be distracted by the storm. Only when Peter adjusted his focus back on the "
Front Sight" -- Christ
-- did he receive the Divine intervention he so desperately needed.
So do you have that? My brothers and sisters, without being in a genuine, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with God in Christ (a Christian as only God gets to define the term), we are ultimately powerless and doomed to fail (perpetually off target). If you're reading this today and have never placed your trust (front sight focus) in Christ as a your Lord and Savior, I can't encourage you enough to do so today. Likewise, if you DO "know God" but have allowed the enemy and the distractions of "the world" to take your focus off Him, then repent and regain that proper sight picture NOW. The "Way" is found in the links in the "
Know God?
" section below.
_____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you still falsely believe that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "
good
" cop or "good" person? That you can be "good" enough without God? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain, "
Repent and believe in the Good News
" (
Mark 1:15
). To
repent
is a "180" -- a complete,
radical
change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (
pisteuo
in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and
surrender
your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in defense against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "
believe
" (the saving kind) is further revealed in
John 3:1-21
where Jesus says, "
... you must be born again
." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian
? [hint -- there is no other kind]).
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from police servant-leader
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also an important part in dealing with the issues that can lead to suicide and sin in general. Click on,
Now what?
MC
