by Norman H. Patterson Jr.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
I am reminded of this verse whenever I have a disagreement or a falling out with someone I love. The reality of 1 Corinthians 13:12 comes home to me in a painful way in the midst of conflict.
I've read many different commentaries on this verse. While the scholars may disagree on minute differences, they all agree that we cannot clearly see one another as we truly are. The Fall of Adam dramatically hinders our ability to understand one another, God and even ourselves.
The difficulty lies in that we believe we see others as they are. But do we? Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the knowledge tree, they were "naked and not ashamed." It was only after they disobeyed God that everything changed. God searched for them as they hid from Him among the trees. Immediately, the blame game started with Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the Serpent. Since then, we perceive as through a glass darkly.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8
We believe we see the truth and the one with whom we are conflicting is wrong. We each have our perspective, and perhaps, neither of us are right, and neither of us is wrong. Or maybe we are both wrong. But we feel in our spirit that we are right and the other is wrong and the need to prove this is overwhelming. And so, we lock horns, and the battle continues, and more damage is done.
The trouble is, it is only after we've said those hurtful things, that we realize what we've done.
I find it interesting that this verse about our inability to perceive one another clearly is in the context of 1 Corinthians 13, the famous Love Chapter. This passage contains one of the greatest declarations of love in all of human and divine literature.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
How can we love like this when we can't even see one another as we are? Are we doomed to a dark glass prison? 1 Corinthians 13:12 gives us hope,
"Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
It helps us understand why human interaction is so complicated, and it gives us hope that one day, we will not always have a skewed perception of one another.
It also reminds us to be humble and gentle in our interactions, especially with those we love. The core of divorce is the hardness of hearts. In my own failed marriage, I now see how we both stopped loving according to 1 Corinthians 13. We got lost in the darkness of frustration and pain to the point where we believed the lie that divorce was the only alternative. And like our original father and mother, we lost our ability to see one another as God intended.
But divorce does not just happen in marriage. This is where it is clearly seen, but we experience forms of separation in our everyday interactions with people. They can be as close as a spouse or as distant as a foreigner living in a distant land, whom we call an enemy.
The breakdown of human relationship happens because of our inability to see one another as we really are. Furthermore, it is our lack of humility and our incessant need to be right. Remembering that we look through a glass darkly can remind us to practice love in a deeper and more meaningful way. I think God is telling us that because our ability to perceive one another has been so skewed, we need to practice never-ending love continually.
We can't do this on our own. It is only through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit divinely imbuing us with the Spirit of Christ in our everyday interactions with one another. So the next time we are embroiled in a battle to be right, let's remember 1 Corinthians 13:12 and the glass darkly.
