“So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7 NLT)
Though every person in every generation has and does exercise faith in something, we still wrestle with the whole issue of what faith is and why it’s so vitally important. What is the foundation upon which our faith in Christ is built?
People who have no faith in the Lord Jesus are quick to criticize those of us who do walk by faith in Him, faulting us for needing a “crutch” to lean on. Yet, those very same people will go to a doctor they have never met, who prescribes a medication they’ve never taken or know nothing about, then have it filled by a pharmacist who is a complete stranger, then take the medication believing it will help them with their illness. Talk about faith!
Everyone walks by faith. It’s not a question of whether we have faith, it’s only a matter of what will be the object of that faith. Non-believers in Jesus still get married, believing their “love” will carry them through, not understanding who the Author of that love really is. They jump in their car, having faith the brakes will work, the steering wheel will guide, and the doors won’t fly off mid journey.
We apply for a job, set up an interview and have faith there will be someone there to meet us and offer us a job. Life is filled with “faith” opportunities, but when the Bible says: “we live by believing and not by seeing,” it has something very specific in mind.
Being a Jesus follower entails a focus on the Person and completed work of the One we’re following, the Lord Jesus Christ. But we don’t see Him with our physical eyes, only with the eye of our faith. Physical sight is limited to material things, but the things of the Spirit are invisible to the human eye, only to the eye of our heart.
Craig Groeschel addresses this when he writes: “Our faith isn’t based on what we see. Our faith is based on who God is.” So, the logical question then becomes: “Who is God?” Who is this God in whom we can put our trust to save us from sin and give us eternal life? Is He trustworthy? Does He tell the truth? Can He be counted on in a crisis?
Make no mistake, there are many gods who vie for our attention, our worship, but only One of them is the God of the Bible, the true and living God. That’s why our faith isn’t built on what we see, but on who the God of the Bible actually is.
Okay, so who is He? What does the Bible say? He is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional heavenly Being who is invisible to the human eye. He is love, laughter, longing, leadership, and the provider of thousands of other human needs, but best described in the Person of His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul writes in Colossians 2:8-9: “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.”
Jesus came in a human body to give physical substance to the invisible God. The basis of faith is trust in the living God, illustrated and defined by the person and work of the living Christ. He is the One who gives visibility to our heavenly Father and substance to our Faith.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 