Reader, remember these three looks at Jesus, backward, upward, forward; and make use of them every day.
The first is the secret of peace of conscience: no peace unless we look backward at the cross of Christ!
The second is the secret of real daily strength and comfort in our walk with God: little solid comfort unless we look upward to Christ’s intercession!
The third is the secret of bright and cheerful hope in a dark world: no bright prospect unless we look forward to Christ coming again!
Backward, upward, forward: these are the three ways in which we should look at Jesus. The person that looks at the cross is a wise person; the person that looks at the cross and the intercession also, is wiser still; but they that look at all three, the cross, the intercession, and the coming of Jesus, they are wisest of all.
~ J.C. Ryle
Tract: Are You Looking?