LOOKING AT UNSEEN THINGS

"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 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 Corinthians 4:17-18). From earth's point of view, the afflictions of the righteous are NOT "light," and they certainly do not appear "momentary." God's people are often led through deep waters, fiery furnaces, and great deserts. Their faith is frequently stretched as their earthly circumstances seem to contradict their heavenly calling. All of these seeming contradictions are only the result of imperfect vision. Those that live by faith see things quite differently. Faith broadens our perspective, making life more tolerable. Afflictions are "momentary" when we possess a "living hope" (1 Pet 1:3). A living hope is a dominating one, that fuels devotion and sanctifies the soul (Rom 8:24). When we know our names are "written in heaven" (Luke 10:20; Heb 12:23), and that our inheritance is "reserved in heaven for us" (1 Pet 1:4), afflictions are made light! Candidly, they are perceived as "heavy" from every other vantage point. Make no mistake about this. The saints are not impervious to sufferings--they are still "sufferings." The people of God, however, are made equal to them in Christ and by faith. The "great salvation" (Heb 2:3) which they enjoy enables them to see this life as preparatory for the one to come. They know if we "suffer with Him, we will reign with Him" (2 Tim 2:12). They are "strangers and pilgrims" in this world (1 Pet 2:11), and therefore acknowledge they have here "no continuing city" (Heb 13:14). Like their father Abraham, they are fervently "seeking a city which has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God" (Heb 11:10). We "look" at things unseen when we consider them--when we ponder them, and meditate upon them. This is setting your "affection on things above, and not on things on the earth" (Col 3:1-3). While carnal people are dominated by a concern for worldly possessions and seeming advantages in the world, the believer considers the "reward of the inheritance," and maintains a preference for it at all costs (Heb 11:26). What God has promised is so good, so grand, so glorious, that it dwarfs all that competes with it. Due consideration of, and insight into, this treasure will provoke the abandonment of all competing interests (Phil 3:8-12). The teachers and leaders that bring the greatest liabilities are those that focus upon this world. Strictly speaking, they are not our friends, for they increase our burden. They deceive us into thinking the "seen" is primary, when it is secondary in every sense of the word. The fact that this may be done inadvertently or out of ignorance does not change the facts in the case. Such ministers have made life more difficult for God's people, and "legion" is their name!. The greatest ministers are those who give us eternal verities to behold; that hold before our minds the "exceeding great and precious promises" of God. These (God's promises) are, after all, the appointed means through which we become "partakers of the Divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4). Those who do not fail to give these Divine commitments to us lighten our afflictions, making them appear but "momentary." Precious friends, indeed, that remind us of the time when we will "beat our swords into plow shares and our spears into pruning hooks." Place a high value upon them!

-- TOMORROW: NEW SERIES ON "EXPERIENCING TROUBLE" --