for we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
The pages of Church History at scattered with tales of great deeds. There are those who went to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Others stood firm in their faith, even to the flames of martyrdom. The church can boast of its intellectuals and also of its great preachers. Oh to have stood in the crowds to hear a Whitfield or a Spurgeon! What it would be to have seen Athanasius of old taking on all comers as he defended the faith! Imagine seeing the Apostle Paul addressing the philosophers of Athens!
Whilst there is great benefit in in considering these heroes of the faith, the fact is that the business of Christianity is conducted in the everyday bustle of life. Paul here is not saying that we run or leap by faith, but rather that we walk by faith. Faith is not simply for the pulpit or the pew, but also for the cheese aisle at Asda or the slow queue at the petrol station. The Christian faith is something which gently saturates every part of life until it is all lived for the glory of God.
So what does walking by faith look like? It is a bringing to mind the presence of God in the midst of everyday life. It is not counting anything too small to be brought to God in prayer. It is reading the Bible in the kitchen.
Such is the pattern of living which earns the title ‘walking by faith’. It is a pattern which prepares us for whatever we may meet in our lives since we are always aware of ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). A well-walked faith creates paths of hope since, as John Bunyan put it, “hope is never ill when faith is well”.
