“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord…” – Psalm 27:4 (KJV)
“Pursue that one thing” means identifying and focusing intently on the single most important goal or value in your life, often described in faith contexts as seeking intimacy with God.
As parents, we sometimes find ourselves repeating certain phrases to our children: “If there’s one thing you should remember, it’s this: …” These “one things” are usually the most important lessons we want them to learn. Interestingly, the Bible also uses this expression to highlight what truly matters in life. Scripture reminds us of people who discover their “one thing” — the thing that matters most to them in their relationship with God.
In John 9, we read the account of the man born blind. The Lord restored his vision, but when the Pharisees questioned him, asking whether Jesus was a sinner, the man cried out that the “one thing” he knew was that he had once been blind but now could see (John 9:25). As we learn in this chapter, the Pharisees, suffering from spiritual blindness, had missed the “one thing;” Jesus’s saving grace.
The hymn “Amazing Grace” reminds us that. “I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.” All of us experienced spiritual blindness before we became Christians. Now, the “one thing” we know is that Christ has opened our eyes to let us see our need for Him above everything. Yes, to ingest spiritual food and nourishment over physical things.
The good part, the “one thing” that Mary chose was to be still and listen to Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). In our efforts to “do things” for God, we often forget that hearing His words, studying them, and praying over them is sometimes more important than our actions, which also reveal the attitude of the heart.
Our prayers as brethren should be: “I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14).
Read: Psalm 84:11; Mark 10:21
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 17:6-12; Matthew 20:1-19; Job 11; Job 12; Job 13; Job 14