…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. (2 Cor 4:18)
Paul begins
2 Corinthians chapter four by saying that he doesn’t lose heart in his
ministry. Much of the chapter goes on to
show hardships he faced in ministry, yet with an optimistic tone. Later in the chapter he repeats, “we do not
lose heart.” This beautiful passage
concludes with an important reminder, “the things which are seen are temporal,
but the things which are not seen are eternal”.
I suppose
he might have said it a variety of ways.
He could have said the things that are seen are less important, or
insignificant, or any number of things.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul said none of these. He said the things visible are TEMPORAL. I suppose this means temporary. It indicates the things visible are
transitory and will eventually fade away.
In contrast,
Paul indicates “the things that are not seen are eternal”. So, what are these things that are “not seen”?
1. Acts
of righteousness. In The Sermon of
the Mount Jesus addresses three common practices: giving, prayer, and
fasting. In each case he admonishes the
listener to do these acts of righteousness in secret. “Beware of
practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you
have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 6:1)
“and your
Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:6b) We are
to give, pray and fast in a way that is unseen.
2. Hearts of people. The human soul is eternal. Anytime we invest ourselves spiritually in
the lives of others we are making an eternal investment. But it is very hard to see the impact we may
be having. The human heart is invisible, for the most part. How often faithful
Christians have invested time and effort to disciple someone- with little or no
apparent result? Years later that same person comes around to share what a huge
influence you were on them. Maybe they
modeled your walk with God, or your family.
Possibly they are multiplying their faith in ways you would never have
imagined. “the things that are not seen
are eternal.”
3. Word of God. It has been said two
things are eternal- the souls of men and the Word of God. Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.
(Ps 119:89) Every time the Word of God goes forth, it accomplishes it work.
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return
to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the
matter for which I sent it. (Isa 55:11)
Even though
God’s word is always effective in accomplishing its work, it is often invisible
in its immediate application. Consider
the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds. The
Sower sows the Word of God. There are a
variety of responses. Some seeds are
immediately eaten by birds and taken away.
They do not take root. Others die
away when trouble or persecution comes.
Still others are choked out by the cares of this world. Finally, some bear lasting fruit. As the Sower sows he sees no immediate
results. Only over time will he eventually
see the harvest.
So why does
Paul encourage us to look to the things that are unseen? During times of discouragement, we must look
to the unseen things. When we are tempted
to lose heart, we must look with eyes of faith. We must see the unseen.
[1]All
passages in this blog entry are taken from New American
Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation, 1995).
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