Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, put away every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race which is set before us, looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” Our Christian life is a race for us to run. The way to run effectively is to “look away unto Jesus.”
The prior post mentioned God’s many judgements recorded in Revelation. It is tempting to read about these and then to compare them to current disasters—earthquakes, storms, or the recent meteor in Russia.
Despite our curiosity about natural events, they are not the course of our Christian race. The supply for our daily living comes not from natural events; our reality and our supply are Jesus Himself. Excerpts from notes* on “looking away” and “Jesus” in Hebrews 12 say,
The Greek word translated looking away unto denotes looking with undivided attention by turning away from every other object.
The wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven and crowned with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:9), is the greatest attraction in the universe. He is like an immense magnet, drawing all His seekers to Him. It is by being attracted by His charming beauty that we look away from all things other than Him. Without such a charming object, how could we look away from so many distracting things on this earth?
We can pray, Lord, attract me to Yourself. Draw me to look away from everything else to You. To me, “looking away unto Jesus” is “looking away toward New Jerusalem.”
* in The NT Recovery Version Online, © 1997-2012 by LSM
Photo courtesy of U.S. National Park Service.
New Jerusalem - the Consummation 
Stefan
/ March 28, 2013I love this footnote. The Lord Jesus is the immense magnet (as He said in John, When the Son of Man will be lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself), and all we have to do is look away unto Him!
Lord, draw me with Your beauty! Draw me away from anything else unto You!
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Don
/ March 28, 2013He is the magnet with the drawing and holding power, yet we need to give a little cooperation to turn towards Him. (similar to 2 Cor 3:16)
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John-Paul
/ March 30, 2013How can we look away from so many things that distract us from Christ? Only by opening to the drawing and constraining of our magnetic Christ. We need Him to cause us to look away to Him day by day, and hour by hour.
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