Keep your Eyes on what is Unseen

“while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” 2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJV

In a heartwarming story published by BOSTON.com Tuesday, it was reported that: As Brazilian runner Pedro Arieta, 34, headed down Boylston Street, his quest to finish the 2025 Boston Marathon was nearly complete. Arieta and his wife, professional runner Luíza Cravo de Azevedo, were both running their hardest on Monday. With the finish line in sight, Arieta’s personal goal of 2:40:00 was still attainable. But as dozens of elite runners cruised past without a second glance, Arieta put aside his personal aspirations and stopped to help Shawn Goodwin, 35, of Boston, get back on his feet. Several spectators posted videos of Arieta’s act of kindness, which quickly amassed millions of views on social media. On Tuesday morning, Arieta, who ultimately finished with a time of 2:41:29, shared a post on Instagram detailing his experience. “The Boston Marathon surprised me in more ways than one,” Arieta wrote. “It was impossible to run past someone who needed help reaching their dream finish line and not help them complete the Boston Marathon.” Cravo, who finished with a time of 2:52:36, commented about how proud she was of her husband. “The essence of sport to me is that right there,” Cravo wrote. “You dreamed about a sub 2:40 and when you were ALMOST there, God used you to lose a few minutes and do something with much more meaning.”

Do you just love that or what? Because Pedro was obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, God used him to do something that had much more meaning than reaching his time goal—something that could be seen but had no eternal impact. And this is the very reason Paul exhorts every believer to keep their focus on “the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” In other words, rather than “looking at the things which are seen” which are the momentary, visible things of this world like personal goals and the acquisition of personal belongings, we are to always look to the Lord and seek His will above all else. This is what truly defines success. Furthermore, Pedro’s finish time will never be remembered but what he did for a complete stranger will. You see, ONLY what we do for Christ will have lasting significance. Paul clearly understood this and so considered any other pursuit to be rubbish. 

C.T. Studd was also a man who knew this. Born into wealth and destined for affluence, Studd’s life changed during college at Cambridge after he gave his life to Jesus. He was said to be the Michael Jordan of cricket in his day. And while many expected for him to play professionally and return to London to embrace a life of fame and fortune, Studd chose to forsake the world (things which are seen) for the sake of participating in God's global purposes (things which are not seen) and penned these precious words…

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last. And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.
So, make it your mission to live on fire for Jesus my friend—always remembering that true success is measured by how we served Christ not by what we’ve achieved or acquired. After all, our service to Him is the only thing that will last for eternity. 
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we must keep our eyes on what is unseen rather than what is seen so that we might always view life through an eternal lens. Help us to give up our will each and every day Lord to do your will that the lamp of our lives might be burned out for thee. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 
Happy Running!