“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
This is an oft-quoted verse, but one I have always found difficult to live by.
I wish I could say that walking by faith rather than sight is easy for me. But it isn’t.
It is hard for me to lean into what I cannot see and what I do not understand. In our post-enlightenment world, there is a real sense in which we are acculturated to only trust what we can see, touch, study, and comprehend.
In all honesty, however, we do not comprehend most of the world around us. We apprehend forces like gravity, the movement of the earth, the passing of time. But we do not really comprehend them.
In a similar way, faith is not contrary to reason. In some ways it is more honest. I admit that I do not comprehend God; I apprehend Him through the character and nature of the universe He created. I have faith in Him because He and His character are consistent with the world I experience. Just as I have faith that when I go to sleep at night, the sun will rise, or when my fingers tap the keys on my computer, the letters will appear on my computer.
I don’t really understand the inner workings of any of that. I trust it to be, because it is consistent with my experience.
This verse in 2 Corinthians appears amid a longer discussion about eternity and the longing we feel for our eternal home. We do not long for that home because we have seen it. We long for it because we have seen the character of God and, as a result, believe what He says is true.
I think the reason I feel that I struggle at times to walk by faith is that I tend to think of faith as hoping against reason. That isn’t faith. Faith is hoping with reason. The reason is that I see and trust the character of God.
Walking by faith rather than sight is not ignoring my sight; it is not being limited by it.
A Quote to Consider
“Truth is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
-Mozzy from White Collar
For the last several years, I have been thinking a lot about truth, goodness, and beauty. Specifically, I have been thinking and studying how these three, what we call the transcendentals, relate to faith.
I have a whole theological system of thought that is developing, and just recently the issue of wisdom became a significant concern in my research. Wisdom is a significant biblical issue. It is something that most, if not all, of us aspire toward.
Truth is a necessary part of wisdom. Without an understanding of truth, it is impossible to truly be wise. Yet truth is not sufficient to develop wisdom alone.
I think this is an error that has distorted the modern Church. Wisdom demands an apprehension of truth, goodness, and beauty. Wisdom never reduces our faith or humanity to cold factuality.
Truth is the first chapter in the Book of Wisdom, but it is not the entire book. So we should love truth, but we should also continue reading the rest of the book.
A Prayer
Heavenly Father,
God of all that is True, Good, and Beautiful. Help me to trust Your character when I cannot see the way ahead. Give me a faith grounded in truth, strengthened by reason, and confident in Your goodness. Teach me to walk by faith without being limited by my own vision.
Amen.
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