Single-Minded Focus
It is that time of year again; that time of year when many are focused solely on one thing. We have already turned our clocks ahead. The first day of spring is two days away. In some areas of the country daffodils are already blooming. The smell of food being cooked on grills is beginning to waft through the air. More and more people are getting vaccinated. Major League baseball teams are in Spring Training. But it is that time of year for something else as well.
Tonight, much of the country will be focused on one thing and one thing only. Yes, you guessed it – the start of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, affectionately known as March Madness. This year’s tournament will be different because of the pandemic – less fans in the seats, teams living in a “bubble,” and all games being played in the Indianapolis area – but still for many, especially after no tournament last year, the games can’t start soon enough.
The brackets were announced on Sunday and since then sports talk programs have broken down the tournament with the so-called experts ad nauseam. Advertisers use March Madness themed ads to get us to buy their products and services, and the tournament even has its own jargon and terminology – The Big Dance, Cinderella, Selection Sunday, Bracketology, First Four, Bracket Buster, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four.
As a nation, we are obsessed with this tournament. Many people have poured every ounce of energy into researching the teams and trying to pick the winners and the upsets. Even people who do not regularly follow college basketball often fill out a bracket. Sadly, when it comes to our commitment to following Jesus, that pursuit sometimes pales in comparison to the energy and effort we put forth in trying to fill out our brackets. Pursuing Jesus is not a casual, go through the motions, kind of thing. The Bible makes it clear that pursuing Jesus is an all-in activity.
The Bible is full of references to earnestly seeking God. We find these words as the opening verse in Psalm 63, “You God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole body longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” In 1 Chronicles 16:11 we read these words, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” And later, in that same book we are told, “Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God” (22:19).
Not only are we called to earnestly seek after God, Scripture also tells us that if we do so, we will find Him. The number of verses that give us that promise is lengthy, here are just two. Proverbs 8:17 tells us this, “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.” And in Deuteronomy 4:29 we find these words, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.”
Jesus tells us that everything we need in life is given to us if we seek Him first. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says this, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I encourage you to always read the verses I mention in context; this verse comes near the end of a longer passage (6:25-34).
So, are you pursuing God with the same single-minded focus and passion as you have when completing your bracket? If you seek after God with an all-in attitude, you will find Him. And that wins every time!