Eyes on the Unseen

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

Some years ago, I had cataract surgery, first on one eye, followed some months later by the other.  I still recall my first annual eye exam following the surgery. What a difference! I can now read the 20/20 line uncorrected with no difficulty. Considering I've worn glasses since age seven and many of those years with lenses of Coke-bottle thickness, it was nothing short of miraculous. 

Without our eyes, we lack an important sense. Our vision sends images to our brains that are processed and stored for immediate action and later recall. As we age and our sight begins to fail, our memories are the recorded images from earlier days of people we loved and places we've been.

But as important as what we can see, our spiritual sight—the ability to see the unseen—is more important. Spiritual vision allows us to see far beyond the temporal to the eternal. In accepting and following Jesus, we are gifted a second sight—a Spirit‑given vision that lets us glimpse the hope of the world to come. And just as my eyesight has stayed 20/20 after surgery, so our spiritual sight—once touched by the healing grace of Christ—continues to clear and sharpen as we grow in love and walk with Him. 

However, we are often myopic in our spiritual sight, limiting our vision to the former while forgetting the latter.

As Christ’s disciples, we are to hold to that future hope of heaven while not losing track of the world we live in now. Part of seeing the unseen is recognizing not only the people often overlooked by society—the “other”—but also the larger wounds of our world: the violence of war, the weight of injustice, the divisions that fracture communities, and the suffering that fills the headlines. Spiritual sight helps us see these realities truthfully, yet also see beyond them to God’s promised restoration.

We are called, as those who can see God’s intended world, to make—at least to the best of our ability—our temporal home resemble the world God envisioned from the beginning. Even in a world marked by conflict, injustice, and division, we actively seek a place of righteousness where we walk humbly and worshipfully before God. It is the Eden of Genesis—a world shaped by justice, mercy, and the presence of God.

Gracious God, thank you for the gift of spiritual sight through Jesus Christ. By your Spirit, renew our hearts and guide our steps, that holiness of heart may become holiness of life. Give us eyes to see Christ in every person—especially the hungry, the imprisoned, the sick, the stranger, and all who long for mercy. Make us faithful partners in your work of justice, compassion, and love. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Tim