We live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7); In this world you will have troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Blackberry picking can be tricky. I have found that I miss blackberries simply because I didn't see them under a leaf or above my head on a tree branch. My sight can't be trusted all the time, so I have made it a habit to approach an area from different directions and from different sight levels.
This practice got me to thinking about sight. Several studies have been done that show how much our eyes can't be trusted. Actually, it's our brain. We program what we see at times. For example, I may be looking for a pair of scissors and in my mind they have green handles. I'll tear the place apart looking for green-handled scissors and not see the orange-handled scissors on the kitchen table.
This reality is also played out in our faith. Paul simply states we live by faith, not by sight. Our sight tells us the circumstances around us are overwhelming. We've been put through the ringer and wonder where God is and how any of this could be for our best interest.
Paul suffered a lot for his faith (see 2 Cor. 11:23-12:10). What he physically saw and experienced, however, was trumped by his firm belief in Jesus. As he stated in 2 Cor. 4:7-10:
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
Despite all that he faced, Paul still trusted God and walked by faith and not by sight, as we must. We can't see the big picture, only God can. It takes radical trust to live this way, but is there a better way to live?
Another thing we must understand about this walk is the fact we are going to get wounded. I know when I pick berries I am going to get scratched no matter how much I prepare. When I lean in to a bush and then reach through the thorns there's no escaping the fact I'm going to get scratched, sometimes deeply enough to form a scar. That's what happens to dedicated blackberry pickers.
Christians get scars, too, for a number of different reasons. We live in a fallen world that is not the God intended it to be and we are not untouched by all that means. We are not immune to disease, accidents, crime, natural disasters, wars, famine, or anything else we humans inflict on our planet and ourselves.
Jesus told his disciples that in this world we will have troubles, or tribulations as some translators prefer. That word means to be pressed down as in a vise. We all can relate to that, even Paul who said he was "pressed on every side, but not crushed."
Wounds also come from God himself, either to strengthen us or correct us. I liken this to the story I've heard many times about the shepherd who had a lamb that loved to run away. The lamb didn't understand the danger, but the shepherd did. After finding the lamb off on another adventure, the shepherd caught him and broke his leg. He then bound the leg and carried the lamb until he healed and was able to walk on his own. The little lamb stopped running away.
God sometimes wounds to heal. When those times come we need to stop complaining and wondering why so we can lean our head back on his chest and hear his heartbeat of love.
Wounds also come from our own doing. Let's face it, we do dumb things in our lives, dumb things that leave scars to remind us of the dumb things we do.
When they're all taken together, our scars tell us a lot about ourselves. They each have a story to tell of lessons learned. Isn’t it interesting that our scars can unlock the door of someone else's heart? What I mean by that is people can relate to us and we to them by our scars, the old "been there, done that" scenario, and that interaction can lead to great spiritual healing.
Earlier in his second letter the church at Corinth, the battered and scarred Paul the Apostle wrote, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Cor. 1:3,4).
We can comfort others because we have received comfort from God and we have the scars to prove it and the knowledge that, despite all that happens in the world, Jesus has overcome the world.
What we need more of in the church are people who are willing to show their scars, to live honest and transparent lives so that others can find the healing they need. What a comfort to know that on this journey of life there are others who know what I know, who have felt the pain I have felt and who have found the answer to the healing I so desperately need and are willing to share that healing with me.
Blackberry pickers shouldn't always believe that what they see is all there is and they need to be willing to get scratched to reach the berries. Christians need to learn how to live by faith and not by sight, trusting that what they see is not all that there is. They also have to be willing to accept the wounds that will come followed by the healing, which will leave scars that can unlock the door to another person's heart.
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