Unfocused.

That is the best word to describe me of late. Read a great book that has burned the idea of focus into my head. This little book tells the story of a man who did mission work in India; the people he worked with (this all took place in the early 1900's) were intrigued by Jesus. They wanted to know more about Him, they respected and love Him, and were open to listening for hours about the person of Christ. They wanted nothing to do with religion or western culture. Even then, the trappings and distractions of the western world held little appeal to the masses living far away. They saw how the culture had impacted belief, and did not want the same thing for themselves. But Jesus...they wanted Him. So the missionary decided that had to be the thing -- forget all the other stuff, and introduce them to Jesus. Tell what He had done, and challenge them to decide on Him and Him alone.

That has had me spinning for a week now. How much of what we do deals in peripherals? How busy are we trying to make our kids good 'christians', but sometimes leaving Jesus by the wayside as we talk about actions and what it looks like to be a member of the church. It is easy to shoot holes in Christianity by looking at the people who claim the title; we screw it up pretty profoundly sometimes through our actions and words. But Jesus...you can't really argue with Him. If we are faithful about bringing people into His presence and letting Him be the example...well, that changes everything.