Our Epistle this week is 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1.
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also 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. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 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. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Paul writes to the church in Corinth with encouragement that they continue in faith. He reminds them “we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak” (v. 13), urging them to remember their call to share the gift of salvation they have been given. God wants them to tell the Good News to the world.
Paul also speaks to them of maintaining their focus on the eternal promise, rather than the earthly things that confront them. We are told that “what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (v. 18). This understanding strengthens our faith that God has wonderful things planned for us, abundantly more than what we experience here.
That faith in God’s love and the new covenant He offers us through Jesus should be our focus today and forever. There will always be challenges and conflicts in our mortal existence, but we are not alone against them. God’s power and mercy will bring us through anything we face.
Heavenly Father, we are weak when we rely on our own strength and knowledge. Help us to see the wonderful promise of life everlasting and accept it by faith. Amen.