Do You See What I See?
We fix our eyes on what is unseen, not on what is seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. 2 Cor 4:18
When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. Many Friday nights I would spend the night with them. They had an amazing assortment of interesting gadgets. These often occupied my attention while they were watching Lawrence Welk and Heehaw. There was a covered wagon made out of pewter, a box of “rattlesnake eggs” (a noise making gag toy), and an Emmet Kelly doll. One of my favorite things at their house was a triangular prism. I loved to hold it up to different kinds of light and see the colors it unlocked. The window, the light fixture and the television all had their own special rainbows. I would walk around the house with the prism up to my eyes just to enjoy the interesting perspective. It showed me things that I couldn’t see otherwise.
The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. We look at the things we see around us and often see hurt and injustice. This is a fallen world, and whether through consequences or our own actions, spiritual warfare, or whatever reason, there is a lot of suffering. It is much more difficult to find the hand of God in these situations. This Sunday was the day after Christmas, and in church we read about Herod’s murder of the innocents. The preacher admitted to sometimes skipping past this difficult passage, and I understand. It raises some difficult questions. What kind of monster kills hundreds of children just to eliminate one? Why would God allow it? Where was the justice? He went on to show how God did work through the situation, not only in sparing Jesus life, but by working in the bigger picture. One of the things that he said is that even in terrible circumstances, God is present. Also, there are forces at work that we can not see.
I know that this is true in my life. There are things in my life that are not as I want them. I am personally dealing with hurt and injustice. I can see though, that God is blessing me even in the midst of my trials. In many cases, the blessings are not in material things or in circumstances changed that I can see. Instead, they are the blessings of watching my teenagers learn to reach out to God and accept the faith that we have tried to instill in them as their own. They are the blessings of God’s sustaining grace in my storm. Looking back I can see how things lined up for God’s glory and my good. The storm is not over yet, but God is still in it with me.
It is so easy to look at the mountains in our lives and become discouraged. Instead let us remember what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17 and 18.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.
Just like the prism was able to reveal things I could not see due to the physical limitations of my eyes, so the Holy Spirit can reveal things that I can not see because of my limited spiritual eyes. Take heart and learn to see the things that are unseen, in your own life and the lives of others.
