FEBRUARY 11, 2 Corinthians 5:7 

“Look out!” warned Koon as his sister stumbled over a chair. “You must be blind as a bat if you didn’t see that chair, Liz!”

Liz tossed her head. “Bats aren’t blind,” she said. “Yes, they are,” said Koon.“We’re learning about them in science class. Our book said they find their way around by listening to sound waves instead of by seeing things with their eyes.” “Yes, but they can see,” insisted Liz. “We studied bats in school, too.” Dad smiled at the kids. “Liz’s right,” he said. “The phrase ‘blind as a bat’ is an expression people often use, but bats really aren’t blind.”

“Well, they must not be able to see very well,” insisted Koon.

“That’s true,” agreed Liz. “My teacher said they fly at night and make squeaky, high-pitched sounds and then listen for the echoes. When sound waves bounce off something and the echo comes back quickly, the bat knows there’s something close by. If the echo takes a long time, it knows the thing is far away.”

“Very good!” said Dad. After a moment, he asked, “Did you know that, like the bats, you should depend on something other than just the things you can see?” “Like… ah… what?” asked Liz. “I know,” said Koon. “The bats use their ears, and we should use ours, too. A train whistle warns us that a train is nearby. Traffic sounds warn us to be careful crossing the street. Right?” “Yes,” agreed Dad, “but I was thinking of something even more important than eyes or ears.” The kids thought for a moment.

“I’m sure you’re going to mention something from the Bible,” said Koon.

Dad smiled. “You’re right,” he said. “What you need is faith-faith in Jesus and in what the Bible says. Some people refer to it as ‘blind faith,’ but it’s not blind at all. It’s faith in a living God who knows all about the future.”

The ears of bats help them fly safely at night, and faith in God helps us walk safely through life,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re blind as bats when we think about all the things that could happen, because bats aren’t really blind.”

Thought: Walk by faith and not by sight.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me not to rely on the things around me, for example, whether my father is capable or wealthy, or whether I do well in school etc. Help me to have faith in You only. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.