June 14, 2023

II Corinthians 5: 7 We live by faith, not by sight. (NIV)

It is the nature of faith to think better than it can see.*

Once a year, after my husband retired, we took a long road trip. We were pretty flexible in scheduling where we would stop for the night but we usually had a destination in mind at least a day in advance. The Christian’s life-journey requires flexible travel plans as well. 

When Paul was writing the words of this verse, he must have been thinking of the many times that Jesus called someone to follow him. Check out some of those occasions in Matthew’s gospel: 

· 4: 19 (Simon and Andrew); 

· 8: 22 (a teacher of the law); 

· 9: 9 (Matthew); 

· 16: 24 (his disciples); and 

· 19: 21 (the rich young man). 

What do you notice about each of those verses? Jesus says, “Follow me,” but he never says to where.* Not everyone that he called was willing to pick up and follow Jesus into the great unknown – but those who followed him in faith got the time of their lives! 

When Jesus calls us to follow him, it is not usually to an unknown destination, but always to an unknown outcome. If we knew where we were going and what was going to happen after we got there, we wouldn’t need to walk by faith. We are not promised a comfortable life when we choose to follow Jesus but we can count on adventure, with his Spirit to show us the way – one step at a time!

Hardy men followed him, drawn by his fearless audacity.*