Then, face to face
The dim mirror cleared
Paul describes the difference between our present knowing and our future knowing with a vivid image: now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. The mirrors of the ancient world were polished metal, giving only a dim, imperfect reflection. That, Paul says, is how we see God and the deepest truths now — really, but partially, indistinctly, as in a clouded mirror.
This honesty about our present limitation is freeing. Much about God, about his ways, about the reasons for our sufferings, remains unclear to us now; we see in part, through a glass darkly, and we should not pretend otherwise. The pilgrim does not have all the answers, and is not meant to. Our present knowledge of God, however real, is partial and dim compared to what is coming.
But then — face to face. A day is coming when the dim mirror gives way to direct sight, when we will see God not in a clouded reflection but face to face, and know him fully, even as we have always been fully known by him. The partial will give way to the complete; the questions that puzzle us now will be answered or dissolved in the joy of his presence. This is the pilgrim's hope: not that we understand everything now, but that then, face to face, we will know fully. The dimness is temporary; the clear sight of God is coming.
“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.”
— Paul, to the Corinthians — 1 Corinthians 13:12 (WEB)
Hold the pilgrim's hope through present dimness — that what you now see only in part, in a clouded mirror, you will then see face to face and know fully.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
There is a quiet pride in needing to understand everything now, and it turns restless and troubled the moment God's ways and our griefs refuse to come clear. The interior work is to accept the honesty Paul offers — that we see in a clouded mirror and know only in part, walking by faith and not by sight — which lifts the burden of full comprehension, while we fix our hope on the day the glass clears and we see him face to face.
This week, when you cannot understand God's ways or your circumstances, release the demand for full clarity now: accept that you see dimly, in part, and rest your hope on the coming day of face-to-face sight, walking by faith rather than by sight.
The spirit of the age treats every unanswered question as a crack in the faith, as though dimness now must mean darkness forever. But a soul content to know in part while it waits for the face-to-face cannot be toppled by the mysteries it cannot yet solve, for it has staked its hope on the One it will finally see clearly.
Paul is honest about the limits of our present knowing: now we see in a mirror, dimly — like the clouded reflection of polished metal — and we know only in part. Much about God, his ways, and the reasons for our sufferings remains unclear to us now, and Paul does not pretend otherwise. The pilgrim does not have all the answers and is not meant to; we walk by faith, not by sight.
This honesty is freeing, because it releases us from the pressure to understand everything now. But the dimness is temporary. A day is coming — then, face to face — when the clouded mirror gives way to direct sight, and we will see God clearly and know fully, even as we have always been fully known by him. The questions that puzzle us now will be answered or dissolved in the joy of his presence. So when you cannot understand, when God's ways are dim and your questions unanswered, hold the pilgrim's hope: the partial knowing is for now; the clear, face-to-face sight of God is coming.
- Do I demand full understanding now rather than walking by faith?
- Can I accept that I now see dimly, in part?
- Does the hope of seeing God face to face steady me in present dimness?
Lord, I demand to understand everything now and am troubled when your ways are dim. Teach me to walk by faith, not sight, accepting that I see in part. And fix my hope on the day I see you face to face and know fully, even as I am fully known. Amen.