BY FAITH OR BY SIGHT

by Bill Jackson

The sense of sight is not part of the Christian walk. 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that we walk by faith, and not by sight.

Yet fundamentalists often like to have that sense gratified. We are not sure if a person is saved because we did not see him walk the aisle. We sing songs about seeing the presence of the Holy Spirit on people's faces. If we see someone weep, we know that the Holy Spirit is dealing with him (unless he happens to be peeling an onion).

We hear the saying, "Seeing is believing," and yet Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

Seeing does make a very strong impression. Peter testifies that, on the Mount of Transfiguration, he both saw the glory of Christ and heard the voice of God. But in spite of this, he still points to God's Word as "a more sure word of prophecy."

We all like to "see results." Yet how many of the results we see turn out to be still-births instead of biblical regenerations. We can rejoice when we seem to see something, but Jesus told us not to rejoice in results, but in the fact that our names are written in Heaven. We have, in this generation, become so wonderfully efficient that we assume advances have been made because of that which we see.

Relying on seeing as we journey spiritually is as foolhardy as driving a car blindfolded. It is not what we perceive things to be; what they really are is known only to God, and best kept that way.

One good reason that we cannot always see what is going on is that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of individuals. If a work is going to be done, He is going to do it. Our joy is to be a small part of the transaction by being a co-worker with Him - using His Sword, the Word of God as we witness to individuals. It is only the Holy Spirit Who can move in the hearts, and when the sinner responds to Him, it is with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness.

God sometimes gives us something tangible that is encouraging, but we must neither expect it or even trust our sensual perception of it.

Even in a fundamentalist world that puts a premium on things that can be seen, and thus regards something not seen as of no real value, set your affections on things above, and walk in this, the only reality, by faith and not by sight.