He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16b
At the end of Paul’s instructions regarding leadership, he concludes with this quote, which was thought to have come from a hymn. Discussing leadership in the church can be a tricky issue but ultimately our focus needs to be on Jesus. Paul seeks to direct his readers’ attention onto what’s important.
It’s easy to become distracted in our walk with God. Whether it’s leadership issues, or simply busyness, or attacks of the enemy, and we lose what God refers to as our “first love” (Revelation 2:4). Sometimes it happens after we have been a Christian a little while. Our focus slowly drifts away from what God has done for us and begins to focus on what we’re doing for God. We expect God to take notice of how much of the Bible we read, how long we pray, how often we attend church, and how much we help others. We expect God to be pleased with all the effort we are putting in on his behalf. But with this attitude, we lose our first love.
How do we return to our first love? “Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:5). That is, return to our original focus. God’s grace isn’t only available to save us but also available so we can live the Christian life. We focus on what God does. We take time to consider how much he loves us and how much he has done for us, then our attention is refocused on him. The Christian life is all about Jesus.
