“For now we see in a mirror, dimly,
but then we will see face to face.
Now I know only in part;
then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12
Seeing yourself on Zoom is disagreeable, but seeing yourself with mirror image turned off is disorienting.
When I was younger this verse invited me to live with puzzles and unanswered questions because in another age I would get to know everything I didn’t know here and now. I just needed to be patient.
I was here and now. Knowing was later.
“Here” was dense and so was I.
In the “Then” everything is crystal clear and I would be content.
Now I am older.
And I don’t think partial is inferior.
We have spiritual practice here and it give us glimpses —
often of a whole love within a Greater Whole.
How can love be less if it is love?
It’s breath taking really. And often enough.
(And if we need a refresher in the action of love, Paul offers 14 verbs in this chapter of what love does and doesn’t do.)
Here and now, our spiritual practice let us know ourselves with more of our whole selves. It surprises us.
We see ourselves beauteous. We should.
For we are loved. We are seen. We are worthy. Fully known.
And how can we be less than beauteous if we are fully known?
It’s breath taking really. And often enough.
In this mixed world, we are both here and there, now and then, before and after
the glimpses are real and whole and will only get better
as our relationship with the Whole One deepens as we age,
and from Age to Age.
Zoom is great when you can’t get together (even if looking at yourself is uncomfortable). It is real in the moment.
Face to face is even better.
“Back to blogging one verse from every book of the bible.”
