"We walk by faith, not by sight. "
2 Corinthians 5:7
SIGHT UNSEEN
Read It: Romans 8:24-25; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Hebrews 11:1
Someone has said you don't have to be blind to have faith, but it helps. For some people, blind is a synonym for faith. Do you buy that? I don't. Faith isn't blind, and God never asked you to close your eyes and leap into anything ignorantly. Where did we get the idea faith is blind? People confuse that idea with the fact that faith involves the unseen. But there's a world of difference between blindness and "things not seen." Take the Hebrews. These Jewish Christians were wavering between their new faith and returning to Judaism. The writer of Hebrews is telling them that they must move on and not go back. But if they are going to move on, they are going to-do it by faith. That's the setting for Hebrews 11, God's "Hall of Faith." The writer is saying, "Look, the fact that you need to live by faith is nothing new. God's people have always lived by faith." Hebrews 11:1 says faith takes things God has spoken about in the future and brings them to the present: "the assurance of things hoped for." It makes visible the invisible: "the conviction of things not seen." So if you don't see it, if it is tomorrow and not today, then it is a candidate for faith.
The world says, "Seeing is believing." I don't think so. You've got to take a blind leap of faith to believe that. Look at those grocery store tabloids with the phony photos made up to look like a ten-year-old gave birth to an alien. If you believe everything you see, I'd advise you not to watch too much television! Committed Christians say, "Believing is seeing. Faith precedes sight." Now this is a fundamental distinction that tells you why many Christians are living defeated lives. If you are waiting to see before you believe, if you are saying, "I've got to see it before I move on it," you are living a defeated Christian life. Faith is not just a nice idea; it's a necessity. If you're a Christian, you are by definition a person of faith. And Colossians 2:6-7 says you never outgrow your need for faith. So walk it and live it today. Think About It If God tested your "faith quotient" today, what kind of reading would He get?
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