Seeing and living by the unseen during the seasons of life.

Here's the deal. It is Wednesday, March 31, 2010 and we are still scraping pollen off our cars like it is chalk dust. It's no wonder that so many people suffer from allergies at this time of year. My wife's car was clean when she left the other day but caked when she returned from Louisiana. She rinsed it off but I noticed before she got it into the garage there was already a fine spray mist of greenish yellow coating on the finish. Some of the grand kids heard me say the resin on my car came from the trees weeping. Now when they notice a fresh blob they always remind me that our pine trees are crying again. But Spring is that time of year when things begin to blossom and we change from cold to cool to warm with an expectation of hot to very hot on the horizon. It's a seasonal thing and God created it, Al Gore not withstanding, to operate the way that it does. It also is a way of marking the passage of time as we experience the seasons of life. We are not in control of where we are in the life cycle process, therefore, I don't know if I am still in autumn or early winter but I do know that time has left its markings as I make my way forward. I do know my homing instinct has become more agitated as I anticipate the day when I will finally arrive to find my dwelling place in my real home in that heavenly abode.

Life in a fallen world is mostly uphill, filled with trouble, and often painful to endure. However, the seen, the felt, and the experienced does not define my reality. It is the unseen certainties that transcends this fleeting existence and helps me to focus on God's plan and purpose. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, via the breathed out message of God Himself, said it this way: "¹⁾Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ²)For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. ³)By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11) No matter how many times I read these verses they still just knock me down. They speak nonsense to those who reject God but while I can not even begin to comprehend the fullness of the meaning here, these words speak peace, truth, and tranquility to my troubled mind. How can we make sense of a senseless world? How can we keep on keeping on even when confronted with troubles and trials? The only answer I have is the one given in these words from our Creator, "By faith!" That's it. That's all. That's the best I can do and it's the best any of us can do because it is God's answer to living life in a fallen world.

Those of you who know this passage know that after this profound insight at the beginning, the writer goes on to name names and give specifics about how people have lived out their lives "By faith." There are also unnamed champions of faith mentioned and then we are encouraged to emulate their example with a word picture of how they surround us with their testimony and witness. We are called on to run the race that God has given to each of us individually and that we should keep our eyes focused on our Savior as we run. Today I am thinking about those in my life that could be included in this great cloud of witnesses. My grandparents who faced horrific tragedies and overwhelming challenges, did so by living by an unseen reality of God and His sovereign grace that caused them to carry on. I think about my mom and the many earth shattering experiences in her life. I think about the God honoring glow of my baby sister's testimony as she dealt with and died from leukemia. I think about my wife's parents and their simple life lived out in their trust of God. These tell me that "By faith" I can make it, despite the difficulties, and that you can too. Regardless of your season in life, look up for your redemption draws near! Amen, Hallelujah, praise the Lord! .....More later.