Look to Jesus

It’s natural to periodically look at ourselves and consider how we can improve. This isn’t peculiar just to Christians. We need only look at the secular holiday of New Year to see that whole industries benefit from this human impulse. Any bookstore knows that the self-improvement section is always lucrative. Friends, I’m not writing this to argue against seeking to improve ourselves. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control, which suggests that by the Spirit’s power we ourselves are expected to seek to grow this fruit, and that it’s a healthy sign if we do. If anything, I’m writing this to point the way to true self-improvement.

When I was young, my father was a very armored man. But when his parents died, I noticed a distinct change in him. He became gentler. His faith in Christ was more visible. We never really talked about why, but as is so often the case, his son noticed. I got to know him much better in those later years.

I suppose as a result of having observed this, last year, when both my parents left this world to enjoy eternal life with Christ, I began to examine the man that I am, the man I would like to be, and the chasm between the two.

But let me pause for a moment to talk about the saints who have gone before us. I just finished teaching one of our classes on church history. Those stories of the great historical figures of our faith—what they endured, how they behaved faithfully in times of great difficulty—can be a great encouragement. The epistle to the Hebrews exhorts us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us . . .” (12:1). But we must not stop there! There is more that the author of Hebrews has to say! “. . . looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (12:2-3). Those heroes of the faith looked (forward) to Christ. That’s why they’re heroes of the faith!

When we came to faith, we weren’t given a system of works to complete in order to properly clean ourselves before we could look to Christ. We looked to Christ! Knowing how we fall short, knowing our imperfections, our state of sin, our separation from God, we looked to the only way of our salvation, Jesus Christ—fully God and fully man, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross as a sacrifice for all of our sins, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven where He lives today, and from whence He is going to return. Charles Spurgeon put it this way:

“What business have you to be looking to yourself? The first business of a sinner is not with himself, but with Christ. Your business is to come to Christ, sick, weary, and soul-diseased, and ask Christ to cure you. You are not to be your own physician, and then go to Christ, but just as you are; the only salvation for you is to trust implicitly, simply, nakedly, on Christ.”*

If you’re discouraged by where you are in your Christian walk, by the places in which you feel you fall short, look to Christ. I do encourage you to self-improve, to take an active part in your sanctification, but by this: look to Christ. As He says in Isaiah, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (45:22).

Are you ever grieved by your own sin? Christians are Christians because they understand what their sin is, that it separates them from their Lord. But Christians are not without hope. They know that the solution is found in the Lord, not in their selves. Be encouraged; your very desire to please Christ comes from your faith and knowledge of how good He is, how much He loves you, and that He provided salvation for you. In those moments of grief over sin, don’t try to fix it yourself. Look to Christ; look to His perfection; remember His love and His goodness; and seek afresh to reflect those very things in your life. Continually turn back to Him and be assured that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

But what if you look to Him and it doesn’t solve everything? This may sound like a pat answer, but look more. Throw yourself deeper into your life in Christ. Pray more; get into the Word and learn about who Jesus Christ is; get into Christian fellowship. The solution is more of Jesus Christ.

Let me frame it another way. When we as Christians encounter sinners in this world, what do they need? We know they need the good news of the Gospel. They need to understand their need for a savior and that only Jesus Christ will do. They need to repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. It is no different for us as Christians. Look, I’m not a Christian because I’m better than the other sinners out there. I’m a Christian because Christ is better than I could ever hope to be. Ultimately, the man I want to be is a man who points to Christ. There is no improvement to seek beyond Him.

* C. H. Spurgeon, “Looking Unto Jesus,” Spurgeon’s Sermons