The Eyes Of Faith

The Eyes of Faith

We live by believing and not by seeing. 2 Corinthians 5:7

FROM THE MOMENT WE ARE BORN, we are trained to perceive reality through our physical senses. We see, hear, touch, smell, and taste the world around us, and we rely on what those senses tell us. As we age, we become aware that our senses can mislead us, that not everything is as it appears. But overall, we trust them. They are our best bet for understanding reality—at least in a material world.

From the moment we are born again, we are trained to perceive things differently. We have to learn biblical revelation to know something about God, and we have to read between the lines of our circumstances to recognize what God is doing in them. We are being called into a life of faith. This life will not demand that we ignore our physical senses; those perceptions are helpful and necessary for functioning in a physical world. But they do not lead us into eternal truth by themselves. For that, our spiritual senses need to be awakened, cultivated, and honed through time and experience to recognize the eternal environment we live in. We have to learn to base our plans, decisions, and prayers on the truth of an unseen world.

As we cultivate this faith life, it becomes beautifully, painfully clear that we are not making things up. God really does answer prayer; spiritual truths really do play out in our lives; unseen forces really do affect the world around us. Even so, we need reminders of this invisible reality at times. We have to pursue our calling to walk by faith and take initiative to see, think, feel, and walk differently than we did before.

When Paul talks about living by believing and not by seeing—walking by faith rather than sight—he means it comprehensively. This is an all-encompassing walk. To live as Kingdom citizens and experience the wonders of God, we have to think thoughts of faith, feel the assurance of faith, and talk the words of faith—not occasionally but constantly and consistently. We have to be weaned from dependence on the visible and pray behind the scenes. When we do, invisible realities enter into the visible realm and change things. Faith, rooted in ultimate truth, becomes sight.

God has made for us two kinds of eyes: those of flesh and those of faith.