Seeing the Invisible

I went on a date with God to Starbucks this morning. It was great…if you’ve never done it I’d highly encourage it. Just remember to bring your Bible because the first time I did it I forgot mine, and it’s kind of important : ) Anyway, I was reading from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. That section is titled “Seeing the Invisible” in my Bible, and I immediately knew I had to write about that. I left Starbucks and started thinking about cool visible things I’ve seen recently-like the moon the other night when it was huge and yellow and sitting right on the horizon. Then I started thinking about how magnificent Cheyenne Mountain looked today since I was so close to it. While I was pondering the majesty of the mountains, I totally drove right past my exit. Talk about seeing the invisible…I can’t even see the visible, like the sign telling me my exit was coming up. I’m such a numb-nut sometimes. I’m sure God laughed when He created me because He knew how much fun we’d have together. So there I was on Hwy 115 heading south. I decided to take the next exit to get turned around, which just happened to be for the restricted road to Norad. As soon as I got off I had a bad feeling that I shouldn’t have taken that exit. I went a short ways and realized the situation was not improving, so at the last minute I pulled off on this paved section by the side of the road that had pot holes in it that were so deep I’m sure I could have heard Chinese in the bottom of them if I had tried. I sat in my car for approximately 53 seconds and surveyed the situation and thankfully found a solution to my problem. I got turned around without visiting China (which I kind of regret, but for which my car was thankful) and got off the restricted Norad road without being shot or arrested. My day had just dramatically improved. Two minutes before I was lost. Now I was not lost and not dead, which was a great feeling.

Ok, that story didn’t have anything to do with seeing the invisible, but it was kind of funny (at least to me) and it got you committed, so it worked. What exactly are the invisible things we are supposed to be seeing? Paul is referring to our spiritual life. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal”. We can obviously see physical growth, but we can also see spiritual growth, or lack thereof. It might not be as obvious at first, but there will be a day when the way we followed Christ will be revealed, not only before men but also before God. That makes it so much more important that we look for the invisible not only in our own life but also in the lives of other so that we may encourage them. Do we seek to grow? Do we desire to become more like Christ? And, most importantly, are we actually taking the steps to accomplish that or do we just sit around and think about doing it? This is so important because the invisible things are the eternal things (v.18). We don’t want to mess up in this area. Too much is at stake.

Look for the invisible. Also look for the visible so you don’t miss your exit. They are both important : )