If you had or have kids or grandchildren, I’m sure you remember the song, “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round.”

Now that I got the song playing in your head, for fun, do you know when and where the wheel was invented?

I didn’t, so I went searching and found out that the wheel was invented in 3500 B.C. in Mesopotamia (modern-day we know it as Iraq, parts of Syria and Turkey, and also Iran), and it was used as a potter’s wheel. Wheeled vehicles were also invented at that time. Spoked wheels were invented much later, in 2000 B.C., and were popular in parts of Europe and Asia Minor.

My question for today is, what do you mean, when you say, keeping Christ centered in your life?

Let’s use the wheel as an example. Consider the world as the rim of our wheel. We live, play, and work in the world, so our outward life flows to the world. In our lives, we have work, family, friends, church, hobbies, and anything else you do; it doesn’t matter how often or infrequently you do them. We will call these the spokes of the wheel. Because all these things are surrounded by you, you become the outer hub. For unbelievers, everything surrounds them, so naturally, they become the center focus or self-centered. They are their own inner hub.

If you are a born-again Christian, it doesn’t stop there. We don’t depend on the world, nor do we look to or depend on ourselves to solve and get through troubles; we turn to God and allow Him to guide us through. Therefore, Christ becomes our inner hub, our center—the center from which everything flows. First to the outer hub (you), to the spokes (everything you do), and then to the world (what we live in).

This essentially is the “Wheel of Life.” As long as we keep Christ centered, the wheel or your life will roll as it should. As soon as our focus shifts off-center, away from God, we begin to wobble. Everyone and everything around us begins to wobble. If it continues that way, it will begin to start falling apart. This is why it is so important to keep our eyes and minds focused on Christ in everything we do. As long as we do, everything will fall into the right places, and roll like it God intened.

So when you hear pastors and other Christians talk about staying focused or keeping your eyes on God, think about the wheel and what makes the wheel up.

When my first marriage failed, I found myself at the lowest part of life that I had ever been in and even considered ending it. But God was not going to let that happen. He brought to me a wonderful Christian man whose everyday job was to help people like me. This “wheel” example was one of the very first things he taught me, which helped me shift the focus from “woe is me” to God, who has the power to change you.