Can We See the Invisible?

2Cor. 4:18 - 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.

o   This verse describes the daily battle. We live in the world of sense but we know that this world of sense is not the highest reality. Paul encourages us to ‘look’ at the things which are not seen. So, there are things which are seen, they are obvious and clearly revealed to the senses. We see them, we hear them, we can touch them, and they exist in a world of time and sense. The five senses are amazing gifts given to us by God to interact with our world. Everything we know comes through those five senses. We saw it, we heard it, and we gained knowledge by using our senses. But Paul says there is a world outside of time and sense, there are things unseen. We are to ‘look’ at the invisible things. What are those things which are not seen? They are eternal realities. Because we live in this world it is very easy to walk through this life without realizing or prioritizing the next life. One way to look at things which are not seen is to believe that they exist and to plan accordingly. The life of faith is not based on the things which are seen, or things which are revealed to the senses. The faith life is based on the things which are not seen, or things which are not revealed to the senses. There is a striking contrast between things seen and things unseen, things temporary and things eternal. If it is seen it is temporary. Everything we see is temporary, it is but for a moment or a season, it will not last forever. Everything we do not see is eternal, it will endure through all time and it will last forever. So the important question is, what are we looking at? Are we constantly looking at the visible world and directing our lives by it? Or are we constantly looking at the invisible world and basing our decisions on it? Jesus described two men that built houses by their attitude toward the Word of God. The wise man built his house on a rock solid foundation by hearing the Word and acting on it and living by it. He ‘looked’ at things which are not seen. The foolish man built his house on a shifting foundation by ignoring the importance of the Word of God and not having a daily priority of practicing what he heard. Both houses probably looked similar for a time. It wasn’t until the storms came that the true nature and strength of the foundation was discovered. The house is the thing which is seen, the foundation is the thing which is not seen. The thing which is seen is subject to the elements and thus to change, the thing which is not seen is hidden below the surface and established upon a rock so it is unmovable regardless of what comes. Let’s focus on the unseen and build an eternally secure house!