For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
2 Corinthians 5:7 AMPC
The very quick version of this extract is: "We walk by faith and not by sight". The version we consider today looks at the broad view of what the simple sentence is addressing, and which are broadly categorised into the following:
1. There is a specific target
Today's extract is for specific people; those who have come into a new relationship with God. The WE refer to people of like minds with Paul, the writer of this book: people who have come to know who Christ is, and have given Him total control of their lives. They do not understand the full scope of this new relationship or see the full picture all at once, but there is a burning conviction in their hearts that only the Presence of God can ignite and sustain. Are you one of the WE? Who is in charge of your heart? I am NOT the one you have to convince; God has got to know who your allegiance is to. It has nothing to do with church membership or language or cultural similarities; this has to do with the blood of Jesus, which brings all men, irrespective of age, culture or colour into the WE.
2. There is a specific assignment or task
The WE here are called to do something quite simple, but yet profound: WALK. That is the central theme of today's extract. WE were not called into inactivity or simple existence; by the way we walk and work, the world must know our stand and our convictions. If God didn't want the world to have a witness as to what walking with God looked like, those who gave their lives to Christ would have been caught up to heaven immediately they did so. God leaves the WE on earth as a witness to His power and imprint. Am I one of the WE? Is God right to leave me down here as a physical specimen of His nature and power?
3. There is a specific method or model for achieving this assignment
The walk is one of faith, not by sight. Why is this important: WE are called into higher service, the type that requires something out of ourselves. We were given physical senses to enable us understand our environment and respond accordingly but then God calls us to a life that teaches us to rise above the dictates of the senses and walk with Him. There are many things about the call of God that will not be obvious now; but the closer you walk with Him, the clearer His will and purpose become. Sight is deceptive; there are things your senses say that may not always be true. Men of old like Joseph and Samson are examples of the power of the physical senses and the consequences that follow the choices I make about how I walk and who I walk with.
4. There is specific consequence to whatever choice I live by
This is the crowning moment: there is nothing God commands that does not have eternal consequences. Think on this for a moment: would God do all He has done and paid such a high price for salvation, if it were all to end here? If a God who is from eternity to eternity, with no determinate start or end, now demand relationships that are only valid for this physical earthly realm alone? God is eternal, and WE were created for eternity. How are WE preparing for this other phase? The NOW determines the THEN. All I do now is a preparation for eternity. How are you getting ready? How do you walk? His time of favour is here.
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