2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (NIV).
This statement seems illogical. If you cannot see something, how can you trust whether it even exists, let alone whether it is good or whether it will last forever? And even if you can create a dim vision of something you have not seen or experienced, it could be merely a fantasy.
Now what we people see is under what many would call “natural law.” The Bible reveals God is superior to “natural law,” rather than being confined by it. God can overcome “natural law.” When this is done, we often term it “supernatural” or “miracles.” And miracles bring our focus on the unseen.
God, who is unseen to us, has revealed Himself to people ever since the separation between God and people. Before the time of Christ, God interacted with humanity, including doing miracles. For example, the Hebrew people were miraculously given bread by God for forty years in a desert region! This bread from God was unique, which is why the Israelites named it manna, which means, “What is it?” The description: “It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31). This was only one of many miracles God did for the Israelites!
Yet miracles seen and experienced by the Hebrew people were exceptional. And all of us humans are physical beings in this world of matter, and focusing our minds on the “unseen” can seem ridiculous.
Yet then the Messiah came! “Immanuel,” which means God with us, entered the world on our level. Jesus, being fully God and fully human, could be seen, heard, and touched. And when Jesus started His ministry, He did miracles which were seen, heard, and felt. For those who experienced the miracles, they were known! John 1:18 states: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” And revealing Himself with miracles was simply a part of His ultimate mission to become the sacrificial atonement on the cross.
A revelation from Jesus: “God is spirit…” (John 4:24), thus He is of a different substance than what the human eye can detect. Yet since we people were made in the image of God, as is revealed in Genesis, we can realize we have a core of ourselves which is unseen. Thanks to the reconciliation which God made possible since Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins, we can now know the love of God in our “hearts.” We can know in our minds and “hearts” the reality of the invisible God, because Jesus has revealed God to us!
Suffering so much unemployment during this pandemic, I wondered if God was going to call me to something other than my passion of vocational ministry. Since ministry work, title or no title, has been a way of life for me for so long, it seemed odd when I considered it would be easier to do a job where you could frequently see the results of your work. It would be easier to deal with what is under “natural law.” But easier does not mean better. When I do ministry work, I know in my heart I am doing work which is making an eternal difference. And if you are a follower of Jesus, as you witness Jesus by your life and in your life, you are making an eternal difference.
Hunter Irvine
