DEVOTION – DAY 315

2 Corinthians 5:7 “Living By Faith”

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

What do you say to someone who is terminally ill? That is a situation that many people would like to avoid. But what if you or I cannot avoid it? We find an answer in 2 Corinthians 5:1 where Paul tells us, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Paul reminds everyone that our bodies are for our use temporarily – and Paul likened to our bodies as earthly tents. Tents are temporary structures. In the same way our bodies will all age, wrinkle, fall sick and waste away and we die. We thank God that for Christians, when we die, it will not be the end. Because Paul said that Christians have a building in heaven to look forward to as our eternal home. Now, a building is a permanent structure. Christians can look forward to having a new body one day that will not age with time, nor become open to sickness and disease. This promise is repeated in a few other places in the Bible. It is a promise that Christians are called to accept by faith. That was why Paul said in v7 “For we live by faith and not by sight.” 

 

Many people today like to say, “Seeing is believing.” What they mean is that they would only believe something to be true when they actually see it with their own eyes. But for Christians, we are called to believe by faith and not be sight. This is because if we can see something with our own eyes, where is the need for faith. Our faith is strong faith because it is faith in the Almighty God. And God always keeps His promises. For Christians, faith in God is all we need, we do not need to see it to believe.

We know someone who answered God’s call to be a missionary. He gave up a career in music and chose to live by faith. If he chose to live by sight, he would have remained in his chosen career of music and lived comfortably. But he gave up his career and instead chose to be a missionary by faith. God sent him first to Iran and later to another Central Asian nation. Whist laboring for the Lord, he contracted Covid-19 and he eventually went home to be with the Lord. He is now in his eternal home having given up his earthly tent. His life was a life of faith.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the promise of an eternal heavenly home with you. Please help us to always live by faith and not by sight and for your glory. We humbly ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Why do many people choose to live by sight and not by faith? Discuss.
  2. In what ways have God called you to live a life of faith? Share and Discuss.
  3. What are your struggles as you try to live a life of faith? Share and Discuss.
  4. Why is it important to live a life of faith, and by faith? Discuss.