Women's Corner                                                                                        November 14, 2007

 

Seen, or Unseen?

“ So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.

I do a lot of looking around. I enjoy the scenery around me. Far too often, however, I “miss the forest, for the trees,” so to speak. I concentrate on something to the exclusion of the total picture. Or worse, I focus my thoughts, and therefore my life, on what I see. Well, there is nothing wrong with that, unless I forget that I have spiritual eyes as well as physical eyes, and that those eyes were opened at my acceptance of salvation, and their correct vision is continually dependent on my nurturing of the spiritual aspects of life.

Despite the quote, “What is unseen is infinitely more important than what is seen,” being plastered on my kitchen cupboard door, I too often focus on what I see when I rub my eyes awake in the early morning. I follow the tendency we all have to “see” only what is before us in the physical. After all, it is right there. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to open our eyes, and as soon as we do- we see something. I wish it were that easy to see with my spiritual eyes. I think it can be, and how I wish I were there. Although I am not there yet, I do seek to walk by faith, and am confident that as I pursue God, He will help my spiritual vision to be just as first nature as my physical sight. The key is walking by faith.

In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, we are encouraged to not give up. Our outer man, our physical body that we see, is slowly moving toward death. However, our inner person, our soul, is growing in relationship with Jesus, and we are actually able to experience more of true life with Christ. The world may see our aging infirm body on the outside, but have no idea of the wells of outrageous life that are going on inside our life with Christ. Unless, of course, we let those wells overflow and splash on others. Another case for letting our light shine, instead of hiding it within, under a bushel, and personal evangelism. But that is another Women’s Corner.

Verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 4, talks about our momentary light affliction. Has anyone seen my list of problems and difficulties lately? Has anyone seen yours? How about Paul’s trials? He is the one writing the letter. Momentary and light are not exactly the words we would use to describe them. The word overwhelming pops right to my mind. And yet, Paul describes them as momentary and light. He is seeing with his spiritual eyes. He is looking at what is seen (physically) and then comparing it with what is unseen (spiritual). He compares all things seen with the eye of the body, to God’s eternal glory seen only with the eye of the Spirit, and concludes that what is unseen outdoes what is seen… hands down. What is seen physically lasts only as long as our physical vision lasts, and some of us are losing that, even as we speak. But the spiritual is forever. It goes far beyond what our physical eyes will ever see. It along is what is real and lasting.

As we approach the festive time of year, when celebrations with family and friends draw us together to remember and give God thanks for all things, and as we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the birth of God’s Son, our Savior- the moment in time when God became a man and lived with us to buy back our freedom and ability to see and comprehend the spiritual, I encourage you to join me in a quest to focus on what is unseen rather than just what is seen. Let’s step out of the box and see our world in light of the unseen. A note in the side margin of my “Experiencing the Word” New Testament says, “One of the most terrible judgments God could impose would be to reveal what He would have done in our lives if we had walked by faith instead of settling for what we could see.”

Can we trust Him? Let’s walk by faith. Let’s not settle for what we can see.