We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Second-Last Sunday in the Church Year

We walk by faith and not by sight. I am sure you have heard this phrase before. Often it is used when someone is encountering a challenging time in life. And what does this all have to do with earthly tents, heavenly dwellings, clothing and longing to be some place else? Today I would like for us to explore Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 and see how being heavenly minded can help us right now in our present circumstances. But first lets define faith.

Faith

Paul says we walk by faith. What is faith? Often time we think of faith as an action on our part – “If only I had enough faith…” But really faith is more of a noun for us – it is something given to us as a gift. The action is really from God to us. Faith comes from the Word, given to us in Baptism and received in the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. It is a gift given to us by God, a gift that brings to us salvation in Jesus Christ. But don’t take my word for it; this is what the Bible says:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV)

And this biblical definition can bring us much comfort. If faith was something we did then we have much to be desired in our ability to “have” faith. But if it is a gift then it is something we can turn to, something we can trust in and something that will guide our walk in life. Faith produces action in us to believe in Jesus, trust in His salvation and respond to the Gospel by conveying God’s love to the world in our words and deeds. For we walk by faith and not by sight.

Earthly Tent vs. Heavenly Mansion

But what about all this talk of earthly tents and being clothed or unclothed? What is Paul talking about? Let me begin to explain with a metaphor.

My family grew up enjoying tent camping. We loved to get out for a weekend and enjoy the great outdoors by tent. Many of you probably do too. But do you suffer from the same curse we do? It seems that every time we are in the middle of setting up camp, it rains! At the most critical point, when everything is exposed it rains.

Case in point – Many years ago when we were living in Indiana we went camping with friends. It was in the middle of summer so it was very hot. Once we got things set up we decided to leave the fly off the tent to let it air out and not get too hot. When camp was established we went on a hike. We were about a mile away when the curse struck. A sudden rain shower (not unusual for Indiana) hit and by the time we got back to camp the tent was soaked. We waited out the brief storm in our van and then spent the rest of the evening drying things out. We love to camp, but we also love to come home, to a roof over our heads and a dry place to stay. Camping is fun, but coming home is a wonderful thing too.

How does this relate to Paul’s words? Well Paul makes a similar comparison to “tent” troubles and heavenly mansions. Our very lives are like the rained out tent on this side of eternity. Try as we might to avoid it, our lives still face the troubles of this world. Sickness, trials, pain, grief, sin, brokenness, … the list can go on an on but you get the picture. On this side of eternity we are all “wet” and long for a better place. That place is not a mere wish or fantasy thinking – it is a reality in heaven. Paul is assuring us that it is ok to long for something better. That life on this side of eternity will be filled with trials, troubles, and tribulation – but that we have something greater to look forward to – heaven. Jesus has come to not only bring forgiveness and new life for us now but Jesus has gone into heaven to prepare a place for us. Our home is not here it is in heaven. So it is ok to long for something better – because heaven is our home! We walk by faith and not by sight. We may not see heaven yet but the gift of faith allows us to cling to that truth and long for a better place.

“Are We There Yet?”

Today is the International Day of Prayer. One reason for this day is to remind us of how important prayer is for our faith life. But another very important reason for this day is to remember that there are many, many Christians who are persecuted and killed for their belief in Jesus around the world. There are more Christians martyred for the faith today then at anytime in history. We may enjoy religious freedom here in America, but in most of the world being a Christian brings persecution and even death. A sobering thought that we need to heed. We walk by faith and not by sight. If it was sight alone then all we would see is persecution, sin and brokenness in this world. People die for the name of Jesus not because of sight but by walking in the faith given to them through the Holy Spirit.

There is another way to look at prayer as a way to bring our focus back to God. How many of you have been in a car with a child or children on a long trip? What is the number one question a child says on a long trip? “Are We There Yet?!?” Most of us would consider that question annoying but there is another way to look at it. Your child has trust in you that they will get to the anticipated destination. The question assumes they will get there, they just don’t know when. You don’t hear you child saying, “Dad, do you know where you are going?” (Your wife might say that!) Or you don’t hear, “Can you really read a map?” No, you child trusts you to get them to where you are going; they just are impatient and long to be there now.

Isn’t that what Paul is saying, “I long to be in heaven, my final destination. But I know that while I am here on earth I can give glory to God.” In essence Paul is saying, “Are we there yet?” And you can say that too in your prayers. When life gets tough you can prayer, “Are we there yet Lord?” trusting that God will see us through, even if we can’t see how right now. We walk by faith and not by sight. We can trust God to take us home; we just don’t see clearly this side of eternity. Jesus promised that he was preparing a place for us and will come to take us home. The gift of faith in our lives allows us not to focus on the sight of this world, but to see what lies ahead – eternity with God in heaven. What joy and comfort that can bring to us as we wrestle with our wet tents; our troubled lives, and know that we have an eternal dwelling place waiting for us. We can look forward to going home and being with Jesus. But for now, we walk by faith and not by sight. Amen.