2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (NRSV)
Read 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 on biblegateway.com
Verse 6So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord- Verse 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. Verse 8Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Verse 9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. Verse 10For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
Devotion
Walking by faith and not by sight is a vivid turn of phrase. I recall a college misadventure of a camping excursion on the Oregon coast. Our equipment borrowed from the student center lacked some important key items. We improvised with sticks, belts, shoelaces, purse straps and the like and settled in for an uncomfortable night's rest.
Then a cold persistent rain set upon us. The tents leaked and we awoke half-submerged in standing water with a persistent drip-drip-drip on the forehead. Finally, we decided to head back to the car and spend the rest of a dark, cold night in that relative shelter.
Our bare feet went numb as we stumbled and crawled trying to find that car in the dark. We came close to falling off a cliff until the sound of rushing water gave us direction and got us back on the path.
We all walk through this world stumbling and bumbling around at times. We don't have all the resources we think we need. We grow numb to the dangers. Mistakes can be costly if not death-dealing.
Yet God continues to call and sustain us in our baptisms. The water reminds us and gives us direction. It leads us on the path. It sustains us to the point of death and beyond.
Prayer
God, give us faith that trumps our limited and misleading sight. Amen.