Go ahead, fill in the blank. 2 Corinthians 5:7 proclaims the very familiar phrase "we walk by faith, not by sight." In reading Proverbs 7 this morning, the 2 Corinthians passage came to mind. Let me explain, and I hope this serves as a good reminder and challenge to us all.
Proverbs 7 carries the theme of the first nine chapters, depicting wisdom vs foolishness. Both are active in their pursuit of the young man who lacks sense. When that lack of sense influences the man, look at the simplicity of his activity regarding the harlot.
He takes the way to her house.
He follows her.
He actively makes a choice regarding his behavior.
You see, when I think of "walk by faith, not by sight" I typically think of comparing faith with the need for some sort of proof. But what I focused on today when I went to that passage was the clear understanding that we WALK. We don't sit, we don't run, for that matter either. We walk, we take action, we remain busy in our Christianity, a steady pursuit. And of course, we do that by faith. But we DO it, we don't just let it happen, or hope it happens, or watch others make it happen. We are involved, or we should be.
Why? Well, look at 2 Corinthians 5:9, in the same paragraph. "Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." We are to have AMBITION to please Him, not sit idly by. It stands to reason that we CAN be pleasing to the Lord. And that comes by making choices that reflect our faith, that reflect His glory.
And those choices start by actively portraying, based on faith, the actions at the end of Proverbs 7.
Listen (to the teacher of wisdom).
Pay attention.
Do not let your heart turn aside.
Do not stray into foolish paths.
The road is littered with those who have strayed, with those whose hearts have turned aside.
Passage like these above, and many others, are calls to action. I pray today for the strength to pursue a wise path, laid out by the Lord.
Holding fast to the name of the Creator.
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