Noticing The Unseen

My favorite Bible verse this week is 2 Corinthians 4:18....

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This week I've been looking for the unseen and the eternal. I thought I'd point to some of the unseen I've been noticing and celebrating. I have to slow down and look with different eyes to notice the unseen all around me.

It was easy to spot our new 12 pound, 10 ounce grandson born last Friday evening. His parents, Joel and Sally, named him Jackson Joel Bartlett. The nurses nicknamed him Bubba. What was unseeable with mere human eyes were the love, commitment and gratefulness of two parents and two grandparents who know clearly that he is a precious gift from God.

Last night anyone could see with their eyes a couple hundred junior high kids on the gym floor at CHAOS. What was unseen were the decisions and thoughts and prayers that were in their hearts as they were challenged to plan to live sexually pure so they'd have no regrets.

Last Sunday my human eyes watched the k-6 children in the loft. I could see that the eyes and attention of all the kids were riveted by Joshua as he obeyed God and the walls of Jericho were destroyed. What was unseen were the seeds of God's truth taking root in the hearts of some precious little ones and how those seeds will spout one day and from that group of children will come fully devoted followers of Jesus who will continue to build God's kingdom on earth.

I receive our church prayer list almost daily on my computer screen. I read it with human eyes. What is sometimes unseen are the answers to the thousands of prayers prayed by people who care enough to pray for those in need. What is unseen if how so often those who are prayed for feel the very presence of God.

So how about you? Are you noticing the unseen? Are you slowing down enough and quieting down enough to to notice the unseen? I hope you and I will both keep looking for the unseen.