A Reflection on the 2nd Reading for June 17th, 2018: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

6So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,  7for we walk by faith, not by sight.  8We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.  10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.

Confidence; courage: Where does it come from?

In the secular world, the world unaffiliated with religion, 'confidence' might come from one's abilities, aptitude or intelligence. Because, in this context, these traits are often rewarded, recognized or praised.  How easy it is to be lulled into a false feeling of confidence when the world rewards solely what it can see.

Personally, I was filled to the brim with worldly confidence before  coming to know and love Jesus. This 'confidence of self' translated into a pattern of making poor decisions in most areas of my life. Rather than dealing with the outcomes of those poor decisions, I would 'confidently' run to the next shiny group of friends or activities or simply 'things'. This kind of misdirected confidence gets tiresome pretty quickly and is often rewarded, if you can call it that, for all the wrong reasons.

This is why the six short words in this verse, "walk by faith, not by sight" offers us the greatest confidence of all: to trust in God rather than in ourselves or the world around us. 

​There is nothing sweeter.

Let us pray: Lord, Thank you for giving me life so I can be in relationship with you. Help me get out of my own way so that I can more fully know, love and trust you. By Your grace, I will walk by faith and not by sight, and glorify you all the days of my life.

​Patty Viscount

To worship God through song for being our 'One True Confidence', click here: "Do It Again"