Do you want your daily words and actions to be more Christlike but you find that you can’t seem to get the right attitude throughout the day? You may want to consider learning to consciously focus your heart on Jesus. We call this “contemplating Jesus” because it is not meditation (i.e., mulling over, reflecting, gaining understanding), which is important for devotional times, but rather we just gaze on, behold, or give attention to Jesus. Contemplation is just a fancy word for these simple activities.
The most profound passage on contemplating Jesus is II Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Notice that it says “beholding” not “having beheld”. In other words, we are to continuously behold the glory of Jesus and the Father. But the fantastic promise is that contemplating Jesus will transform us into the likeness of Jesus!
Heb 12:1-2 teaches us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Again, we see that we should continuously look to Jesus, for that is how we can “run with endurance”. Continuous contemplation of Jesus enables the Christlike life.
We see a vivid example of this when Peter tries to walk on the water towards Jesus. When he takes his eyes off Jesus he sinks, but when he focuses on (i.e., contemplates) Jesus he stays afloat and reaches his destination. We can do the same thing today inside ourselves.
But how can we see Jesus? Is it really possible to have a clear and direct vision of Jesus in our hearts? No. I Corinthians 13:12 states that we “see in a mirror dimly” but one day “face to face”. We do “see” now – but dimly. So we are okay with the fact that Jesus seems somewhat dim (although at times God gives special grace so Jesus seems closer and clearer), and we learn to continuously behold Jesus.
So what does it look like to continuously contemplate Jesus? It just means that your heart or mind learns to keep part of itself continuously set on Jesus or his presence even while you are doing your daily tasks. It will be different for different people. Some may have an image that they focus on in their mind. Others will focus on a sense of the Holy Spirit (which is the spirit of Jesus and the Father) inside them. And even if you are in a dry time you can keep attention on your center, your heart, which is where the light of Jesus dwells. (II Cor. 4:6-7) In any case, you stay connected to the spirit of Jesus inside you.
How do we learn to do this? Simply figure out what helps you to keep part of your self focused on Jesus. It could be a phrase or idea from scripture, an image, a sense of his presence, or just a simple choice to focus on your center where Jesus dwells. Then practice that focus throughout the day. Create reminders, put them on your calendar, place a physical reminder in your work area such as a Cross, or take 1 minute timeouts and refocus throughout the day.
Keep this up for at least four weeks until you notice that part of you is always a little conscious of Jesus, or at least conscious of your center where he dwells. Then make this a habit of your life. If you do this it will change your life. You will be able to walk on the “water” of life without sinking. You will find yourself speaking different words, and choosing different actions. You will find that you are “transformed into his image” as II Cor. 3:18 promises.
