“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
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 in the here and now.
I just needed to wait and be patient.
I was here and now. Knowing was later.
“Here” was dense and I was as well (a little bit.)
In the “Then” everything would be crystal clear, and I would know and be content.
Now I am older.
And I don’t think partial is inferior.
Our spiritual practice gives us glimpses —
of love within a Greater Whole.
How can love be less if it is love?
It’s breath-taking really. It is 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 lets us know ourselves
with more of our whole selves.
It surprises us.
We see ourselves lovely. We should.
For we are loved. We are seen. We are worthy. Fully known.
And how can we be less than lovely if we are fully known?
It’s breath-taking really. It is enough.
In this mixed world,
we are here and there, now and then, before and after.
The glimpses are real
and the Whole will only get richer.
Our relationship with the Whole One deepens as we age,
and deepens Age to Age.
What puzzles and unanswered questions do you remember living with when you were younger? What are some truths you lived into?
Our spiritual practice changes as life goes on. What glimpses of the Divine, of Love, of Hope, of the Whole have you seen? What truths do you cherish?
Meditate on what it means to you to be being “fully known” by God in this moment.
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