Walk by Faith, not by Sight

In this part of his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul explores an age-old theme for Christians: How can we be part of this world (in a physical sense), but at the same time not of this world in a spiritual sense? In I Corinthians 13:12, Paul makes a similar argument when he notes that Christian believers are never away from the Lord in an absolute sense; but as long as they are in the body, they are to some degree separated from him.

This constant tension between how we maintain our spiritual bearing, given our physical surroundings, has always been a major challenge for me, and no doubt many other people.

In my case, the issue is twofold. In the first instance, the physical world represents both temptations and a growing sense of our frailties. This side of our physical being both attracts and repels us as we go through life’s various stages, regretting things we’ve done in the past and present and fearing things that may lie ahead. At the same time, we can see beauty and harmony and also ugliness in the physical world, which is evident even for those who do not have a religious foundation.

The second issue concerns what I believe is suggested by this passage from Paul. That is our perception of the physical world as more “rational” and “real” because most of our senses, most of our navigational aids, interact with this physical world. The challenge that we face as Christians and all peoples of faith is how to ensure that our heart and soul become the one main, overriding sense, the one that is able to rise to the surface in the constant hustle and rationalizing influences of the physical world. The lighthouse on a stormy night is an appropriate metaphor of what the heart-soul sense must do for us in our daily lives.

Our Christian faith gives us some tools and “training exercises” to help the heart-soul sense rise to the top: prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, stewardship with our time and resources, and love and charity for our fellow man. In regularly using these tools, the heart-soul sense can overcome the rational, “real” senses of the physical world, and allow us to indeed walk by faith.