Pastor Chris Royce
Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Sunday June 13, 2021
One of the annoyances and frustrations that nearly all of us in this room have to deal with everyday is vision problems.
Statistically, 75% of people need to turn to corrective vision (contacts, glasses, LASIK) at some point in life. Out of curiosity, how many of you need help to see? It’s so interesting that vision/seeing is one of the five senses God gave to us and for so many, your life barely gets underway and your eyesight is already faulty. Other senses (like taste) improve and become more sophisticated and enhanced over time. Not so with eyesight! I needed glasses at 11 and switched to contacts at 14 and they’ll be my constant companion for the rest of my life. Same is probably true for many of you. And if you think that you’re one of the lucky few that doesn’t have to deal with this – you might not be out of the woods just yet, you might need some help to see someday!
I’m sure you’d agree – vision problems can be quite an annoyance. Glasses and contacts are the first thing you need to tend to in the morning and the last thing you need to do before bed. Eye exams are costly, glasses and contacts are costly. LASIK – obviously a significant expense. You need to take great care with contacts that you clean and store them properly. Glasses can be a nuisance like with wearing masks over the last year, they get all foggy. Or you start sweating and they slide around on your face, they can crack or break fairly easily. Even if all you need are readers, you need to make sure you have them packed with you at most times. Though you’re probably used to the “corrective vision life” by now, in a way it almost seems like living with a lifelong curse – being nearsighted or farsighted. For many of us, this is our earthly lot.
But speaking in spiritual terms – God has given all his followers farsightedness. Farsighted is the one where you can see clearly things that are distant but your close-up vision is blurry. God gives Christians eyes that cloud and blur the present and instead focus with clarity on the prize waiting at the finish line – Christ. Spiritual farsightedness isn’t a curse or hindrance to life at all. Instead, this is the greatest blessing there is. Why? Because as Paul reminds us in our lesson for today: “What is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal”. God has blessed us with eyes that are focused on what lasts. Our prayer this morning is that God would every day lead us to keep our eyes still focused on the eternal, the unseen. This is our Upside Down truth for today – Focus On What You Cannot See. God wants us to focus on the unseen.
This is very much upside down from how the rest of the world thinks. The rest of the world says YOLO – You Only Live Once. The world says “Eat, drink, and be merry now, for tomorrow you die.” The world doesn’t focus on matters of eternity because, “when you’re dead, you’re dead.” That’s it, party’s over. Nothing comes next. The world doesn’t focus on matters of eternity because of a false notion that everyone goes to heaven when they die. The world doesn’t focus on matters of eternity because there are more pressing visible problems to deal with here and now. Social issues, environmental causes, politics, policies, injustices – whatever it might be. This is the world we’re a part of. A nearsighted world. But we’re different. We’re farsighted. Paul’s life and ministry was a perfect example of this.
Earlier in chapter 4, Paul made it clear that this ministry had its challenges. Abandoned, persecuted, struck down – him and his ministry team were but frail jars of clay entrusted with precious cargo, the gospel of Christ. We gave more attention to that here last week. If Paul would have thrown in the towel on his ministry – “well, we gave it our best but clearly they’re not interested in this – would you have blamed him? But in the face of difficulty and challenge, Paul and his team aren’t ready to quit. Instead, they double down. They’re going to keep going. It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak. So that’s Paul’s “what”. That’s what Paul and crew are going to continue to do. And here’s the why – We believe and therefore speak because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. Farsighted. Verse 14 is the wind at Paul’s back. Paul knows what’s in store for his own life, and for all who take belief in the message he brings. He knows that Jesus will return, and he knows on that day what his destiny will be. Eyes of faith.
Guess what? You have this same wind at your back as you go through life right now. You have the same eyes that Paul had! Isn’t that neat?! You have the same certainty that when this life ends your cold bones will awaken from the sleep of death and you will stand before the throne of God. I can’t help but think of Job’s words from the Old Testament. Job was “dealt a great hand” from God, if you will, and then God took the cards back and dealt him a really rough hand. As Job navigated the hardship God allowed him to experience, he spoke these beautiful words. And this is so true for you and me too. I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Paul was farsighted, as was Job, as are you, as am I. We know that our Redeemer lives. We know that these same eyes will feast upon the glory of God one day. Job’s heart is about to jump right out of his chest just thinking about it. May God give us that same zeal and excitement for what’s to come!
But back to Paul, now. In the last three verses of our section he gives us three reasons why it is so good for us to live focused on what we cannot see – Jesus. One per verse. First, when we focus on the unseen, we get stronger where it matters most. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. I’ve met many elderly folks over the course of my life. And did you know that pretty much all of them have the exact same piece of advice to give to people my age. You know what that is? “Never get old!” As you know from experience or as you will one day experience, life gradually takes away from you. You lose your strength. You lose your mobility, your sharpness, your vigor, your independence. Your hearing goes, your vision deteriorates. You waste away. And if you’re not there yet, you will be someday. While your body is wasting away, for us Christians, our soul gets stronger over time. This is one of the only things (maybe the only thing) that doesn’t give out on you over time. As we are nourished by the word here and in our homes, as we are washed by baptism’s waters and fed by the Supper, As we keep our gaze on heaven and Christ and the feast waiting for us, our soul gets stronger.. Renewed inwardly, where it matters most. Because our soul carries on even when our body fails us for good.
Verse 17 tells us that it’s good to focus on the unseen because it’s better than here. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Now, we wouldn’t say that by going through hardship in this life we “earn” our way into heaven – but what Paul reminds us here is that whatever this life throws our way is nothing compared to how good heaven will be. Kinda like how “I plug through 4 years or 8 challenging years of college, because the degree and career is worth it”. Jacob is another example, too. Jacob worked for Laban seven years, but they felt like just a few days because the love of Rachel would be his in return. We focus on what we cannot see because the quality of that new life, what’s on the other side, is so much better.
And then in verse 18, not only is the quality of life better but the quantity is better, too. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Have you ever tried to wrap your mind around this? Eternal joy and bliss with no expiration date. No farewells in heaven. No goodbyes. No departures. No end. Think how much we look forward to new beginnings in this life now – getting married, having kids, or grandkids, starting an exciting new career or life pursuit, or retiring. These are so joyful, but the joy of each is temporary. It lasts only for as long as we do. How much more we can look forward to our permanent dwelling! This is what our Lord God wants us to have. Eyes on Christ. Eyes of faith. Eyes on the prize. Eyes on an everlasting life. Focus on what you cannot see.
So how are your eyes? For these eyes, you might need to go in for an evaluation, an eye exam, once a year. But with our spiritual eyes – every Sunday, every day honestly, we need to evaluate our eyes of faith. You’ve heard it said before that there really is no such thing as multitasking, you can’t watch TV, listen to your spouse, and send a text all at once. You can only be focused on one. So I ask you to humbly consider – Is your focus on the unseen, or is your focus on the seen? Paul, again, is focused on ministry here, so let’s first talk about the relationships we hold. If you don’t want to bring up Jesus with those you’re close to because it’ll ruffle feathers or disturb the peace, that’s a symptom of nearsightedness. If you worship creation instead of the one who created all things, that’s a symptom of nearsightedness. If you rely on mortal people to give you peace instead of the Prince of Peace, that’s a symptom of nearsightedness. If Christ is your focus only after everything else on your plate was dealt with first, that’s a symptom of nearsightedness. This is a serious eye exam we need this morning. Because remember, what is unseen is eternal. And eternity, as you know, goes both ways. We don’t want to be found focused on the temporary when Christ returns or calls us home.
I love these verses for two reasons. #1, they keep my heart in check. So often, my focus is off and I go through life in spiritual nearsightedness. And if my hope for eternity depended on my eyes, I would have no hope to speak of. These verses keep my heart in check. But #2, they also remind me of what is mine. My hope is found not in how faithful my gaze is on God, but my hope is found in Christ alone. Martin Luther said it so well – He redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil not with gold or silver but with his holy precious blood. Christ looked our way, lost and condemned creatures, and washed all our sins away. Long before Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God looked our way and chose us in him to be holy and blameless in his sight. And as verse 14 again reminds us – God will look our way yet again, when Christ returns to bring us home. If we want to focus on eyes here this morning – look at the eyes of God – that seek after our wayward hearts before, during, and beyond our earthly lives into heavenly glory he has prepared for us.
What does Paul do? He believes, and therefore speaks. Why? Because Christ will return to bring us to himself. That’s our why too. So what is our mission in life? Same as Paul’s. We believe, therefore we speak. We season our conversations with salt. We show others where our priorities lie. We demonstrate to others where peace and hope are found, and found to the fullest. We fix our eyes on what we cannot see. Because what’s unseen is incredible. And one day it’ll be ours. All because of Christ. Amen.
