Bruce Collins, Evangelist

2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Supposedly seeing is believing. However, I do not believe that saying is really true. If I had seen the Lord’s miracles, I am sure that I would have tried to figure out what sleight of hand magic trick He was performing. I know that when faith healers say that they are performing miracles today, I usually assume that they are deceiving us in some way. So we can see a thing and not believe it.

On the other hand, there are many things that we do not see that we do believe. For example, I have never seen my brain or heart or lungs but I do believe in them. I have never seen George Washington or Abraham Lincoln but I do believe they existed. I have never seen the north pole or the bottom of the sea but I do believe they exist. In some cases, I have seen pictures that others have taken, and I have heard others say or write that these people and places exist. When I believe them, I am believing in that which I have not seen. Why should it be so hard to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way? We do not have pictures of Him, but we do have witnesses that have written about their acquaintance with Him. Just like the bottom of the sea must logically exist, a creator God must logically exist since we didn’t just happen any more than our cars or houses or clothes just happened. So it should be easy to believe in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Things that we do not see are probably more important than things we do see since those things are often associated with eternity, spirits or angels and God. In 2 Kings 6, when the King of Syria had the city that Elisha was in surrounded, Elisha’s servant said, “What are we going to do?” Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes might be opened and, when they were, he saw the Lord’s army of horses and chariots of fire surrounding and protecting Elisha. When Daniel was praying in Daniel 10, there was an unseen battle going on in heaven that hindered the answer to his prayer for three weeks. Some of us have experienced these “three week” delays. We are told in the new testament that Christians wrestle against principalities and powers and wicked spirits in heaven (Ephesians 6:12). But we who are saved are also told that we have angels that minister unto us (Hebrews 1:14). Thank God for the unseen ministering spirits that have been given to us just as they were given to Elisha..

I have not seen heaven or hell but I believe in them. I have not seen beyond the grave, but I believe in eternal existence. Believing in things that are not seen helps me understand things that otherwise would be very confusing. It helps me understand the depravity of the human heart and why countries are constantly fighting rather than cooperating with one another. It helps me explain death which seems like such an ugly end to created beings that are so beautiful. It helps me understand the love that God had for me, and it gives me a reason to believe that the future is going to be better than anything we can imagine if we are really trusting in the Lord’s blood to give us forgiveness of sins. It also gives me a reason to preach the Gospel when I realize how bad the future is for those who reject the Christ of God that they have not seen with their own eyes.

Bruce Collins