Balance

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Heb.12:2a)

Some of the exercises we do in my physical fitness class at school are designed to improve our sense of balance. We are often reminded that balance has nothing to do with age and can be improved no matter how old you are. I have learned that the key to standing continuously with one foot on the knee of the opposite leg, while holding both hands clasped above your head is to remain focused on one place in the room or landscape. If our eyes begin moving from side to side, so will our bodies! In order to keep our balance, we must remain focused.

This same physical principle holds true for our spiritual lives as well. There is a reason why God says in Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth…” Not only does it save you from hell; it also is the way to keep from falling over in this world of spiritual pitfalls and morally uneven terrain. There is a constant tugging on all sides to try to tip us one way or another. Our own personal world, like the earth itself, must revolve around the Son if we are ever to experience equilibrium—equipoise, if you will—in this life. The verse in Hebrews tells us why.

Our faith begins and ends with Him. Everything else is just incidental. Even spiritual things. Our church and its doctrines, our ministry and the good things we do for others, not to mention prayer and Bible reading, are all good things; but none of them are an end in themselves. Jesus Christ, the “finisher of our faith,” (I say this reverently) is where the buck stops. His is the face on which we must focus if we want to keep our spiritual balance, and when we set goals for ourselves—and we should—they should be in a direct line with that vision. The answer to any question we have in life will only be right if He is factored into the equation.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “A body is said to be in stable equilibrium when it returns to its original position after being disturbed,” and a Christian’s Spiritual balance can be gauged by how long it takes him or her to return their gaze to Jesus Christ. He is the center of our gravity, and the only One who can keep us from losing our balance (Jude 24a).