Dear Rose Park,
Growing up I played three sports throughout the year. I laced up my cleats for the soccer team in the fall, put on my goggles for the swim team in the winter, and broke in my catchers-mitt for the baseball team in the spring. I was most gifted for baseball, less gifted for swimming, and even less gifted for soccer. As an athlete on multiple team sports you become accustom to hearing the language of coaches. One of those commonly used phrases is “eyes on me.”
I’ve been hearing this phrase a lot lately. As I mentioned in my last letter, Simon is currently going through swim lessons. Simon’s class only has five swimmers, yet I hear Coach Braden saying “eyes on me” quite often. When a little girl is splashing when she should be listening, “eyes on me.” When a little boy is looking out the window when he should be getting ready to jump in, “eyes on me.”
Eyes on me. That would preach, don’t you think? There are certain phrases that just beg to be preached and “eyes on me” seems like one of them. In no way, shape, or form would I be preaching “eyes on Mark Waterstone.” Instead, the message would be pointing our eyes to Jesus. I’m willing to bet there are times when God sees our lives and desires to shout “eyes on me!” When our focus is too strong on ourselves, God shouts, “eyes on me!” When our vision becomes tunneled and we lose sight of most what’s important, God shouts, “eyes on me!” When we forget about worship and simply drift through the weekend, God shouts, “eyes on me!” And when our life becomes difficult and we forget His faithfulness, God shouts, “eyes on me!”
Though God is a selfish god, His shouts aren’t a selfish ploy to stroke His own ego either. Rather, those shouts are a powerful encouragement and instruction for us to live life effectively through worship, service, prayer, and community. Of course, these shouts are different for all of us. Perhaps for some, it’s the word of encouragement from a neighbor, for others it’s the silent time of prayer spent with God, and still for others it’s the Word from scripture or the line from a hymn. In any case, God is not sitting idle on the sidelines and watching creation unfold, rather He is jumping up and down in the middle of the action offering words of love, hope, joy, and peace when He shouts, “eyes on me!”
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark