“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen in eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, “For now we see through a glass darkly….” Now up until this week, I thought Paul was trying to convey the idea of peering through some dark colored glass and only vaguely be able to make out figures or images on the other side. That is until I read how James used similar language when he said, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.” The word, “glass,” used in both cases is the same Greek word, esoptron, which is commonly understood to be a mirror.

While it is true that any glass in Paul’s time would have been less pure, less clear than today and thus any image reflected in it would also be less clear, I want to draw your attention to another aspect — whether intended by Paul or not. When you look in a mirror you are seeing a two-dimensional reflection of a three-dimensional reality. What you see in the mirror is temporary. It only exists while standing in front of it. When what is real walks away from the mirror, the thing that is real still exists but the image in the mirror no longer does.

Now, think of the image we see in the mirror as being comparable to seeing in the natural realm with our natural eyes… and what we don’t see with our natural eyes without the aid of a mirror (e.g., our face) as comparable to the unseen, eternal or spiritual dimension. The image we see in the mirror is temporal but the object casting that image is the “real” thing. It reminds me of the story Einstein wrote about a world where everyone was a floor tile. They only knew length and width.

One day, one of the tiles got lifted off the floor and for the first time discovered height and depth. He was stunned and shocked and excited to learn about this new dimension that opened up all kinds of possibilities. When he shared his revelation with his other tile buddies, they thought he was crazy, that he was imagining things, that he should be locked up or at the very least glued down to the floor again. As we begin to have our eyes opened to see what is unseen as Paul said, people who only have their eyes fixed on what is seen will want to have you committed. But that doesn’t make it wrong. And yes, I know there are some real kooky folks out there, but let’s not use that as an excuse to remain on the floor and justify our blindness. To be continued…

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today:  for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever.” Ex 14:13

As I have laid out previously, one must escape the paralysis of fear and learn to be still so you can see the salvation or deliverance God has. Nothing calms fears quite like being in right relationship with God. When we sin, it is not God who turns away from us, but rather it is we who turn away from Him. We feel shame, unworthiness, etc. because our heart condemns us (and so do many of our brothers and sisters), but John says, “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our hearts. If our heart does not condemn us, then we have confidence towards God.” When you sin, run toward God. That in itself is an act of repentance, and He will not condemn you. Rather, He will restore you. When you are “still” in His presence, it is the same as “waiting on the Lord,” and it is in that process, you experience the restorative process and find strength again. (Psalm 27:14)

Now to my point. Seeing. Do you believe there is a spiritual dimension, a heavenly realm that is a higher dimension than our earthly existence? I do. When I say “higher,” I am not referring to altitude. I am speaking of higher “authority,” greater excellency, superior strength, the eternal vs. temporal. Remember how Elisha answered his servant who was terrified by the armies surrounding the city?  2 Kings 6:16 records his response, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”  How did he know that? Is it possible he had trained his eye to see? Is it possible that his walk with God had attuned him to see in that realm? And more to the point, is it possible that we might also learn to see like that?

Elisha prayed for his servant who had never seen in that dimension, “LORD, I pray you, open his eyes, that he may see.” And the Lord opened his eyes and the servant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. If God would answer that prayer for Elisha, do you think God might open our eyes to see? I am going to suggest that we can learn to see in ways we may never have seen before, whether with the eyes of our understanding (Eph 1:18), our spiritual senses (Heb 5:14) or through spiritual giftings (1 Cor 12). And I am going to suggest that seeing in that realm is as much of an advantage as natural eyesight is an advantage in life over those who cannot see. Even though we see through a glass darkly, “in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.”

In many ways we are sight deprived and we don’t care because everyone we know is also similarly afflicted. But when a man or woman with spiritual vision comes along, we discover there is a higher way of life. In the next several weeks, we are going to explore what it means to see in that realm and I will be calling upon you to share your experiences of receiving sight and seeing the salvation of the Lord!