BY GREG CRUM
“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.” II Corinthians 4:18
Being a child in the ‘80s had its perks. Among other things, it was one of the greatest decades of all time for the toy industry. Innovative toy lines were created that endure to this day, many only increasing in popularity these past 40 years. And for the kid who grew up in this time period, there was seemingly no end to the variety of quality playtime “companions” one could have.
Now, one such line of toys boasted that its characters were “more than meets the eye.” Why? Because at one moment, they could appear as a semi-truck or airplane and, by a (sometimes rather complicated) series of twists and turns, could transform into a robot. Cool toys then, and very valuable toys today if found in good condition, but what is even more valuable is the lesson that they can remind us of today — in this life, there is always more going on than what we can see with our natural eyes.
Now, God created the human body to perfectly interact with its intended environment. This “Earth suit” suits Earth extremely well. Part of the equipage the Lord designed in these bodies are our five senses, and these senses benefit us tremendously as we navigate through this world. We’ve come to rely on our sense of touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight to make it safely through our time here on this planet. Unfortunately, because of this we’ve gotten to the point to where we rely on them too much, much to the detriment of our spirit and its “senses.”
Our five senses are extremely valuable in interacting with this natural world, but what we see with our natural eyes is only a fraction of reality and true existence. There are many more things in our lives that are unseen, and many of these unseen elements are the controlling factors in our living a life of victory here on Earth.
As believers, from time to time, we must remind ourselves that we are to live keenly aware of the unseen realm, the spirit world that we are a part of. This realm is more enduring than the sky we see and the faces in our mirrors. This world is full of spiritual forces, both good and evil, and it is up to us to exercise our authority in Christ in this realm to enforce God’s will in our lives and on this planet.
According to the counsel of Scripture, the unseen things of the spirit are all around us. Remember II Kings 6:8-18? There the servant of the prophet Elisha had his eyes opened to see into that spirit realm. An army of flesh and blood had surrounded Elisha and his servant to take them prisoner, but that army of flesh was surrounded by a host of unseen angels ready to fight for the men of God! What’s more, in Mark 5:1-13 we read of Jesus’ interaction with a man who was being controlled by a legion of demons (perhaps 4,000-6000 in number). All that many who were there that day saw was a “wild man,” but Jesus looked into the unseen realm and dealt with the root of that man’s condition. I’ve never seen an angel or a demon, but because I believe the Word of God, I know they exist and are as real as all that I have ever seen with my natural eyes.
Friends, this world includes much more than meets the eye. In fact, it’s the unseen that is the most important and influential in the believer’s life. There are some blessings we will never experience or victories we will never achieve in this life until we choose to see things like Jesus did and deal with the root of the issues in the unseen realm.