Eyes on the Prize // by Chelynn Broughton
Happy Monday! We are in our second week of studying the story of the bent woman from Luke 13:10-17. This past week was Spring Break, a favorite holiday for all teachers, and as I focused again on the story of the bent woman in the synagogue, I thought back to my first Spring Break ski trip. It was a little over ten years ago. My husband loves to ski and had gone many times over the years, but I had never skied before. Morgan, my step-daughter, who was ten and my son, Jeremy, who was a student at OU at the time, went with us. Neither of them had ever skied before either.
We drove to Taos, NM, checked in at the condo, and headed to the slopes. Once there, Jeremy (the smart one) signed up for ski lessons and went off on his own. Joe surveyed the slopes and decided that the lower areas were pretty icy, so we should get on a lift and go higher where the snow was heavier. I naively followed him, thinking he was the expert. Trusting him completely, I climbed onto a lift and went up the mountain.
Once there, all I could focus on was the steep drop offs that were on one side of the mountain where I was now supposed to learn to ski. Morgan had no problems maneuvering her skis around in the snow, but no matter how hard I tried, I just kept skiing straight towards the edge of the cliffs. I would then drop to the ground to prevent myself from plummeting off the mountain. I did this over and over again, and finally, emotionally exhausted, I gave up completely. I wanted to cry! I didn’t think I would ever get off that mountain. I ended up getting directly behind Joe with my skis inside his, and I held on to his waist as he skied us to the bottom. Talk about embarrassing and terrifying!
Needless to say, I signed up to take lessons that afternoon and sat out the rest of the morning while Joe and Morgan skied all over the mountain. The first lesson they taught us that afternoon was that our skis would go where our eyes went. That was like a lightbulb in my head! The reason I kept heading toward the steep cliffs is because that’s where my focus was going. Once I figured this out, I almost enjoyed skiing. I’m still a beach girl though and always will be.
…
As we return to the story of the bent woman, we consider the question:
What do we learn about man from this story?
To answer this question, let’s look at how the others who were in the tabernacle behaved. After Jesus called the woman out of the crowd and healed her,
“she immediately stood up straight and praised God. The leader of the tabernacle became angry and harshly criticized the crowd for coming to be healed on the Sabbath.”
In verses 15-16, “Jesus criticizes the leaders of the synagogue and calls them hypocrites.” Then we find out that, “Jesus’ opponents were humiliated.” Finally, “the people in the crowd were delighted” with the wonderful things that Jesus was doing. Through this, we learn that:
Man’s focus is not on the right thing.
The bent woman’s focus was inevitably on the pain and suffering that she had gone through for 18 years. She had only been able to look down for all of those years.
The leader of the synagogue’s focus was on the enforcement of the law.
The people in the crowd were focused on the routine of the day. I imagine they were irritated by the crowd and were pushing forward through the people trying to get closer to the “show.” They were probably more focused on themselves than what Jesus had to say. (This might be similar to what some go through every Sunday morning as they perform their weekly church-going routine.)
But…Jesus changed all of this when He focused on the woman no one else could see. When He healed her, her focus changed. I imagine that she loudly praised God as she focused upward for the first time in 18 years. The others in the crowd had a focus change as well, and I’m sure they passionately praised God for the miracle He had just performed. The leaders, however, were still focused on the wrong things, and they are then labeled enemies of Jesus.
…
Focus is important in our walk with Jesus. The Bible is full of scriptures talking about where you should focus.
Colossians 3:2 (ESV) tells us to:
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Where is your focus? If all you see are the troubles in your life, then maybe you need to shift your focus to things that are above.
This week I challenge you to stand up straight and praise God for the wonderful things He has done and will continue to do in your life.
Chelynn is a contributing writer for Shaken and Stirred. She is a long-time daughter of Christ, a wife, mother of two amazing adult children, and Nonnie to four beautiful grandchildren. She teaches Senior English at Charles Page High School and is also a Realtor for Keller Williams. She enjoys all things summer including boating, vacationing, and swimming.