“Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ” (Hebrews 2:8b ESV).

Setting aside His glory, the palpable evidence of His God-Presence, Christ entered fully into the human experience. Fully God, yet completely human. It boggles the mind to truly focus on the cosmic leap that Jesus made in becoming a man.

He sacrificed the unthinkable; I struggle to pay attention to what He says.  Christ suffered with agony deep as payment for my callous sin; too often I neglect his sacrifice, my great salvation. Christ experienced every temptation known to man, and is able to help me overcome temptation; many days I don’t even try to resist temptation.  This book of Hebrews is a word to discouraged believers, who had a tendency to take salvation lightly, those who neglected to truly follow Christ.

Under His Feet

Using the Old Testament writings (Psalm 8:4-6), the writer of Hebrews demonstrates the both the humanity and the authority of Jesus. As a man, Jesus, like us, is made a little lower than the angels; yet He is crowned with glory and honor. God has placed all things in subjection to the authority of Christ (Hebrews 2:6-8). There is nothing, not one soul, not one rock, not one day that is not subject to Christ. How hard our independent hearts can strain against the Lordship of Christ.

Verse 8 continues, “But now we do not yet see all things subject to Him.” I look around and see the arrogant rebellion of cultures clashing hard against the love of God. Disbelief multiplies rampant, stirred on by the political machines of our day. I look within, discovering a heart too easily bent toward independence and self-promotion. So much that we do not yet see with eyes earth-bound by sin: A whole kingdom to come, ushered in on the backs of the faith of men. Future glory. <Tweet this.>

“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His presence.”  AW Tozer (The Pursuit of God).

All the difference.

But.

We do see Him.

And that makes all the difference.

Standing in the gap between this moment and eternity is Jesus, the One who calls us brethren. The One who has entered our humanity, experiencing our suffering and temptation. Present in our waiting world, we can see Him now. [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#Jesus #Insight”]Yet how do we see what cannot be seen? Like squinting into the wind, we cannot physically see Christ.[/tweetthis] 

 Seeing what cannot be seen

The word blepo, means to look at (literally or figuratively), behold, perceive, regard, and to take heed. This is a spiritual seeing with the eyes of the heart, a Holy Spirit given clarity of insight, a resonance of perception—a grasping of the mind and understanding of the will.

Using this same word, Jesus often talked about the blessing of spiritual sight:

“But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance” (Matthew 13:16-17 MSG).

 Eyes that don’t see.

Contrast this with Paul’s quoting of Isaiah in Acts 28:26:

“Go to this people and say to them, You will indeed hear and hear with your ears but will not understand, and you will indeed look and look with your eyes but will not see [not perceive, have knowledge of or become acquainted with what you look at, at all]” (Acts 28:26 AMP).

This Spirit-given sight comes through faith:

[tweetthis twitter_handles=”#Faith”]“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NASB).[/tweetthis]

As we continue to grow in faith, God works to sharpen our spiritual sight. Understanding and seeing intertwine as Christ reveals Himself to us. I’m so grateful, for I certainly cannot make myself see more clearly–it is a grace-gift fromGod.

How’s your spiritual sight? Is it time to get your vision checked? Ask God to continue to sharpen your awareness of His presence today.