I have a friend from back in the day who almost always did the same thing if he was in the back seat of a car you were driving. He’d reach up, put his hand over your eyes, and yell, “We walk by faith, not by sight!” It made for some pretty intense moments — seconds in reality, but what felt much longer to everyone in the car. Side note, this isn’t the best way to practice that verse, although it is a great story to point out something in it that is obvious and yet, often overlooked.
…for we walk by faith, not by sight… (2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB, emphasis mine)
We’re supposed to walk by faith. Not run, or sprint, or skip, or, as in the earlier story, drive. The faith life has to be one that moves a little slower because we don’t know where we’re going. We’re holding a hand that is leading us, following a voice that is calling us.
Some versions translate this word as “live” because its meaning encompasses a way of life, a rule of conduct for people in the Way. We are intentional. We are disciplined. We aren’t running all over the place like chickens with their heads cut off, frantically trying to figure out what is going on in our lives.
Translation? Chicken Little wasn’t a follower of Jesus.
Perhaps one of the greatest witnesses we could offer our breakneck, out-of-control culture is an example of a life lived at a slower pace. A life that walks by faith instead of running in panic.
Speed matters because speed can kill, and slowing down may be just what we need to breathe life back into our relationships with Jesus.
