A Framework for Faith/Spiritual Vision

Thus do Thou enrich my lantern with Thy light, I pray Thee, Jesus mine, so that by its light there may be disclosed to me those holy places of the holy, which hold Thee the eternal Priest of the eternal things, entering there in the pillars of that great temple of Thine, that constantly I may observe, desire Thee only, and loving Thee only may behold, and before Thee my lamp may ever shine and burn.

  - Columbanus, Sermon XII (Irish, 7th century)

And stopping, Jesus called them and said,  "What do you want me to do for you? " They said to him,  "Lord, let our eyes be opened. "

  - Matthew 20.32, 33

The Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus that they might be able to see with the eye of the heart into that unseen realm where Jesus rules as King at the right hand of God (Eph. 1.15-23). He seemed earnestly to believe that there was much benefit to be gained from exercising such spiritual vision.

That Jesus lives and reigns in heaven - wherever that may be - is a tenet of faith of every true believer. But what does that mean? More importantly, what does that look like? And is it really possible, if only with the eye of heart, to see into that glorious realm and to derive spiritual strength and guidance by so doing?

Of course. We should make the prayer of those blind men our own prayer, crying out daily before the Lord to part the veil that separates the eternal realm from our temporal experience and to show us His glory as He reigns on high. The Scriptures provide much in the way of description of this realm of  "eternal things." And we should be diligent in piecing those texts together which paint out a landscape of the unseen realm, so that we might make it a focus of daily contemplation.

For the unseen realm is real, and Christ is King there. Moreoever, we have been seated with Him there (Eph. 2.6) and are commanded to set our minds on that realm so that we may make real Kingdom progress here and now (Col. 3.1-3).

This is where we can engage Christ in His glory, and where we can know sweet foretastes of joy and pleasure nowhere else to be found (Ps. 16.11). But such vision and its rewards do not come easily. Unless we are diligent and faithful in seeking the Lord with the eye of the heart, we will not make much progress in seeing His face in glory or knowing the power and peace of that heavenly realm (2 Cor. 4.6).

This is real. We are called to seek Christ where He is and to dwell with Him there. Whether we will or not will determine just how real and vital our faith in Him is.

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

ReVision - The social sciences are catching up with the Bible again.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.