We Live by ...

"We walk by faith, not by sight," Paul said (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Faith is an interesting concept. It involves belief coupled with action. We believe something then act upon that which we believe. I believe that God forgives freely and generously, so I am honest with God about my struggles and failures. I refuse to live with guilt and shame.

To live by faith is to stake our lives on something as true. It is to build our lives on this truth even though it flies in the face of reality!

Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 5:7 is made in the context of suffering (2 Corinthians 4:7-12) and aging (2 Corinthians 4:16, "even though our outer nature is wasting away"). As Paul dealt with these physical realities, he expressed confidence that the Spirit used his struggles to produce spiritual depth and maturity. "Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day," 4:16. He did not become discouraged (4:16a) because he looked beyond what was to something more, something greater. He looked beyond the physical to the spiritual, beyond what is temporary to what is eternal (4:18). He lived by faith.

Paul bet his life on spiritual realities that cannot be seen or guaranteed. He did not allow the physical to dominate or define his life. How he lived was shaped by spiritual realities he embraced as true, not by physical needs, desires, pleasures, hungers, struggles, suffering, illness, aging, or death. That's what it means to live by faith.

It seems to me, however, many (most) of us prefer not to live by faith. We like to be certain. We like to be right. We like guarantees. We like to know we are secure. (How many of our homes have security systems? All of our computers do!) We like the comfort of the familiar. (No, we don't like change. We like to know what to expect.) We don't like adventure with its unknowns. We can only tolerate little-to-moderate risk. We like to know we are safe from what might happen. (That's why we buy insurance!) And we certainly don't like to lose or look foolish.

In short, we live by fear. Our desire for certainty is our attempt to deal with our anxiety and fear of the unknown. (Have you ever noticed how we almost always project the worse about the unknown?)

To live by faith is to live with confidence. When Paul spoke of faith in this passage, he spoke of confidence - confidence, not certainty. 2 Corinthians 5:6, "so we are always confident." 2 Corinthians 5:8, "yes, we do have confidence." Confidence is a quiet assurance in the face of what is and in the face of the unknown. It is a quiet assurance in God and God's faithfulness, regardless of what comes our way. Confidence involves an inner knowing. "For we know ...," 2 Corinthians 5:1. This confidence, this deep knowing is fostered by the Spirit's work in our lives, reinforced by our experience of God's grace and faithfulness as we live by faith.

To be a follower of Jesus is to live by faith. It is to place our bets on what we say we believe. It is to risk that what Jesus said about God and the ways of God is true. It is to build lives upon Jesus' teachings even though they are at odds with our basic human nature and with the world in which we live. It is to live for Him and his purposes rather than for self, 2 Corinthians 5:15. It is to live with confidence, knowing ... That sounds a lot like being certain, but it is not. It is faith.