If pressed to choose which part of the Bible is my favorite, I will tell you that I love 1 Corinthians most of all. The reason is that I see the Apostle Paul at his best, theologically, and his most vulnerable, personally. The 13th chapter is often spoken of as the “love” chapter, and it is read in most weddings I have been to. And while it is about love, it is not necessarily about marriage; I have come to see this chapter as a lesson about life, death, and resurrection. The idea, for me, is that God’s love is so amazing in so many ways that God will give us life after death that is even better than this beautiful life we have now. Towards the end of the chapter, Paul wrote, “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.” The “now” is our present life experience and the “then” is after we die.
This chapter should teach us something about how we understand ourselves and the nature of God. And while humans have always been able to look at their reflections, first in water, then in shiny surfaces like metal, it wasn’t until the 1st century C.E – around the time of Jesus and Paul – that the Romans began creating glass mirrors. This shift in mirror technology must have been mind-blowing to people of that time and might explain why Paul was able to use this device of self-reflection in his explanation of God. The ability to see oneself so much more clearly must have changed people’s self-perception, but even with this improvement, Paul seems to be saying, it still isn’t perfect. The images were still somewhat distorted, but God will see us perfectly.
This is why, I think, it is ridiculous for any person to proclaim who is or is not seen by God. God can see us and know us for exactly who we are, but we can’t claim the same perception about God. We speak about – pray about – wonder about – who or what God is, but these descriptions are often based on our own biases – our reflections of ourselves. I think this is why every culture portrays Jesus as themselves – Jesus wasn’t white, but almost every American and European church makes Him look that way. The same goes for just about every other race or culture. And because God knows us fully, we need to do our best to be our best. God doesn’t expect perfection; after all, God knows how imperfect we are – but God does expect better. I think we can all ask ourselves, with honesty, if we like what we see when we look in that dim mirror. If we don’t, there’s something we can do about it. And I think – I hope – God will love what we see too.
Prayer – Holy God, as imperfect as we are, we are yours. May the way we see ourselves please Your desires for us. Amen.
Today’s art is Because of Him BY McDermott & McGough, 1966.