Dim Mirrors and Dull Glasses

A dirty mirror

" 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."  

1 Corinthians 13:12

Have you ever looked into your makeup mirror and seen little but hair spray or a conglomerate of hair spray and dusty makeup?  Or better yet, how many times have you picked up your mirror and seen messy little hand prints all over it?  Needless to say, you looked through a mirror "dimly."

As I grow older I become more and more aware of how true it is that we only see the shadows of what is to come.  A few things hit me as I read this passage:

First, I see youth, vibrant and with the idea that they are pretty smart, quite wise, and know much.  They often think that mom and dad are really out of the loop, not too smart, lacking in wisdom, and don't know much at all about the important things.  It's just the bent of children to underestimate the distance that their elders have traveled.  They haven't been there yet.  Their mirror is dirty, but they don't realize it.  When they look into it they think they see a pretty cool reflection.  (Is "cool" cool anymore?) 

Then I realize, sadly, how little I know, how much there is to learn, and how little time I have left to learn it.  My daughter reminded me yesterday that I could have 30 years left; my mother did when she was my age.  But at the same time we don't know the span of our years.  The Proverbs encourage us to "number our days so that we may apply our hearts to wisdom."  Proverbs 90:12.  So I want to make the most of the years that God has prepared for me.  And even yet, I see only through a mirror dimly. 

Hopefully as I mature in Christ my mirror gets rubbed a little cleaner, but it is still dim.  Someday--Praise God!--I will know even as I am known.  As Grandpa Persson says, GLORY!

"But, as it is written,

'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him;'”—

1 Corinthians 2:9-11

This is my husband's eyeglass collection.  He goes to Dollar Tree and buys them for a dollar.  When a pair breaks he takes them back and gets another pair.  When he needs a new strength, he goes and buys another pair--or two or three.  When those become too weak, he.....you can guess the drill.  He tends to lose them, so he buys more, or stronger, or..........I'm sure this isn't all of them.

Anyway, no matter how strong our glasses are, and no matter how "clean" our mirror is, we still see dimly and cannot imagine what God has prepared for us who love Him.  I have a feeling we would all be clamoring for heaven if we could only imagine.

While we wait to see the big "reveal" we have much to do.  Let's work on cleaning those mirrors and getting our prescriptions right.  Let's fulfill God's purpose for us as we "glorify Him and enjoy Him forever."  Let's learn and teach and obey as we prepare for GLORY.

Cleaning my mirror and adjusting my glasses,

Gloria