‘And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.’ John 8:29 KJV
Notice that the assurance of the Father’s constant presence was based upon this mind set of the Son ‘to do always those things that please Him’.
As followers of the Lord Jesus we need to follow this example.
Paul, writing to Timothy said these words,
‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ 2 Timothy 2:4.
The world is full of ‘entanglements’ and distractions. We can easily become so immersed in them that we lose our focus on the most important things. We must learn to look past the visible and fix our eyes on the invisible realities. All that is visible is transient. Only the invisible, eternal realities of which the Word alone speaks will last. Living to ‘please Him’ requires us to stay focused at all times. We must live in the world and fulfil the duties and responsibilities that life imposes upon us –but, in all of this the believer has the challenge, and the joy, of knowing the truths of Colossians 3:1-4,
‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.’
Why do we need so desperately to develop this mind-set and focus for our lives? Answer, because of that last sentence, ‘When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye [we] also appear with Him in glory. We have something that surpasses all this world has to offer. We have an eternal inheritance ‘reserved in heaven’ 1 Peter 1:4.
So, ‘set your affection’ on those ‘things above’, and NOT on things on the earth. Follow the example of the Lord Jesus and the advice of Paul to Timothy choose to live with one overriding passion and desire –to please Him in all things.