1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
Paul uses another image to describe how love never fails and continues forever. In this life, we may struggle to love others. It is not always easy to love others. We can do our best but often we do not love the way we should. Our understanding and experiences are limited by many things. Our own selfishness gets in the way. Our physical bodies are not always at their peek. We do not have all the facts and often jump to conclusions in our effort to interpret what is going on around and within us.
This is all like looking into an ancient mirror. Mirrors back in Paul’s days were only polished metal. Few people actually knew what they looked like. If anything, they only knew a dim reflection of their true looks. Today, our mirrors are very sharp. Even our video and photography technology make sit possible to see great details about ourselves. Even our own technology cannot substitute for a face-to-face encounter with someone. In our current time, people talk to one another with all kinds of gadgets and online chat systems. But nothing is quite like being with a person.
Our understanding is also limited. We can only know part of the truth of a topic, no matter how long we study it. Even the truth we perceive is always interpreted through our own presuppositions, worldview, and personality. The accumulation of knowledge and understanding is a lifetime journey that is never complete.
These illustrations help us understand the nature of love. We get hints of love in this life. Those moments and experiences can be life transforming, deep, profound, and meaningful. We can seek to relive those experiences everyday. But we must also recognize that this is only a foretaste of what God has in store for us in eternity. We can seek to experience eternity now in part. That is what it means to be part of God’s kingdom and to seek this kingdom and its revelation in our lives now. This kingdom is all about love.
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