See Through A Glass Darkly

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). A One-Way Mirror, or a Reciprocal Mirror, is set up so that from one room it appears to be a normal mirror but from the other room it functions more like a window that can be seen through. The way this works is that one side of the glass is brightly lit and the other side is darkly lit. The glass both reflects and lets light through, but on the brightly lit side, it is mostly going to reflect back the light that is already there so that it would be difficult to see anything from the darkly lit side. When we think we are learned and wise, when we think we know best, it is like we are filling our side of the glass with a bunch of bright light so that all we can see is our own reflection. However, if we can humble ourselves, admit that in the grand scheme of things we know practically nothing, that we are only going to make it through this by relying on the Lord and His wisdom, then we turn down the lights on our side of the glass. And as Paul said, we see through the glass darkly, or, we see through the glass when our side is darkly lit. If we are struggling to understand the mind and the will of the Lord, if we are insisting that what He is asking us to do makes no sense, if we have already decided that we know best, then we can’t see past the reflection of our own light. It is only when we value the answers, whatever they may be, more than the questions, it is only when we seek our Heavenly Father’s light rather than our own, that we can see through the glass.