WORKING TOWARD THE UNSEEN

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

                Last Thanksgiving, we traveled to North Carolina to celebrate with my family. One day we were visiting with my niece and her family. The boys asked me to read a story to them. They gave me a book to read that was about a family building a house. It was from the perspective of a child. It was a great story about having a vision for something that did not yet exist. The story begins with an empty field and ends with a house.

                When Jesus gave the disciples the Great Commission, He gave them a vision of what would be, but was not yet. The full impact of the Great Commission is realized in Acts 1:8. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." This small group of believers had never traveled outside of Palestine. Yet Jesus painted a global picture for them, in broad brush strokes. The vision that Jesus gave to the disciples began to take shape at Pentecost. From there it spread throughout the known world, until today it has permeated the entire globe.

                Often, as followers of Christ, we get trapped in the “what is” and lose sight of the “what will be.” We get discouraged when we lose sight of the vision and focus on the path before us. Paul tells us, in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that if we are in Christ we are new creations, the old has gone and the new has come. That is our spiritual reality, yet we don’t often believe it or live it. We see our old nature actively exerting its influence in our lives and we become discouraged. We need to change our perspective. God has begun a process within us that He will bring to completion. (Philippians 1:3-6) We are on a spiritual journey. Every step we take moves us closer to the goal of being Christ-like. Each step is important, but these steps are only a means to a greater end. We need to keep our eyes on what will be in Christ.

                Paul gives us a wonderful picture of the journey that we are on, in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18.

    But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

    Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

                What we see is our frailty. What we need to focus on is Christ’s power. What we see is decay. What we need to focus on is renewal. What we see is struggle. What we need to focus on is victory. We allow the temporary to dominate our vision, when we should be focused on the eternal.

                God has a vision for His Church, but it is not yet reality. God wants His Church to bear much fruit for His glory. To accomplish that, we will need to put in place the components for grow. We will need to sink our roots deep in God’s word. We will need to invest in the stalk; a strong community centered on Christ. We will need to spread our leaves to receive the work of the Holy Spirit. And we will need to continue to grow toward the Son. 

                God has a vision for our future; a greater vision than we can ever imagine. As God reveals that vision to us, we need to do our part to accomplish that goal. In His wisdom, God reveals His vision to us in bite sized pieces, but He always stretches us beyond where we are comfortable. As Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, the foundation for our faith and life has been laid. Now it is up to us to build upon it.  

    By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

                The real difference between those who really succeed in life and those who do not is where they put their focus. Most people settle for what is. Those who make a difference focus on what could be.  Christ is calling us to take our place with those who refuse to settle for the status quo.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.