Lately, I’ve been at a loss for words.
It isn’t from writer’s block, but more of a “I’ve got a million thoughts in my head, but don’t know how to get any of them out” thing. Clarity one minute, and a fog the next.
Ever been there? Maybe it’s because I’m processing what God just did during our church’s ENCOUNTER 23 event, but I think it’s even deeper than that. I think (you’ll notice I’m using that word a lot) that this is actually what it’s like to follow the ways of Jesus in a world that isn’t.
This is part of what it looks like to grow up in our faith. Many of us have believed the lie that a mature faith is one that knows more about the faith, but a better definition would be one that trusts more in the Father of the faith.
Trust implies not fully understanding, and that’s something that a lot of us can struggle with. Look at what Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth:
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:11-12, emphasis mine)
Clearly, Paul is explaining a growth process in our faith that mirrors how we mature in the natural. We grow up and stop talking and thinking like children. But then he tells us what we can expect now versus what we’ll experience later.
Now I see partially; then I’ll see the full. Now I know parts; then I’ll know fully.
But look at the last phrase…
“Even as I am fully known.”
In this world that so often feels like walking through the fog toward a destination we’ve never really seen, it’s possible to be fully known. But it isn’t possible to know God fully. Here we can only know in part, even though here we can be fully known.
Why does that matter? It matters because too many times we waste a lot of energy and effort chasing some revelation of God that will answer all of our questions about God, only to be disappointed again when we see Him “through a glass dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12 KJV).
We wonder where we missed it. We think others have received it. We question our ability to see it. But Paul’s words should set us free from that unnecessary struggle! Joy in this life doesn’t come from knowing everything about God, but from accepting that we are fully known by God, and trusting that nothing He learns about us will separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).
Someday, we will see Him as He is, but for now, in the shadowlands, we have moments – we could call them glimpses of glory – when the fog lifts, and we see as much of Him as we can handle. This is why revival affects people in such a wide variety of ways; some can handle more of His glory than others.
I played a commercial at the end of the message I preached at church yesterday. A commercial from a grocery store chain that explains so beautifully how God graciously watches over us, takes care of us, and provides for us even when we don’t fully recognize Who He is.
As you watch it, would you do two things? One, grab some tissues because you’re probably going to need them. And two, ask God to help you see Him as He is; not just as a holy God who saved you from death, but as a Father who wants to walk with you as you live.
Photo by Jakub Kriz on Unsplash
