September 6 – Clearly Know

“ 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 (ESV) 

Do we really know ourselves?  We may think we do but probably we don’t.  If we are as most, we try to do the best we can with what we know.  In the days that Apostle Paul visited Corinth, it was a city much caught up in its own image and the pleasures that made it up.  Mirrors in that day of the 1st Century A.D. were polished brass and they reflected badly.  Paul is teaching the believers that how we perceive ourselves today is nothing like how we will once we are in heaven.  We will see ourselves clearly as if face to face.  Today, this is not so unrealistic, our mirrors work well but in that time it was a good example.  And, Paul says not only will we see ourselves for what we are in Jesus Christ, we will also know ourselves in a way that is complete.  We will know just as we are known.  We will see ourselves and know ourselves just as Christ has made us.  No longer confused children, but mature (perfect) in Christ. We will lack nothing. We will have all we are and need.

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January 6 – Ever Increasing Glory

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)

There is a great change that comes into our lives when we accept Jesus as our Savior. The Bible says that we are then born again and we are given a new life. This is eternal life we received when we believe. But that is just the beginning of what God has for us and wants to do in our lives. We read in our verse today about the more that is promised. It speaks of a continuing process that is going on in the life of a believer. We read that we are being transformed into God's likeness. You see that God wants us to be like Him and that it doesn't all happen when we become believers. Our new birth is only the beginning of the transformation process. Our verse tells us that this is the work of God's Holy Spirit, and what does He expect of us? Just that we allow Him to make  us more like Himself. Let's be willing for to happen in our lives today.

August 8

“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 13:12 (NIV)

As we live by faith here on this earth, we are looking forward to greater things in heaven. That’s what the apostle Paul had in mind as he wrote these words. We do thank God for what He has revealed to us about His eternal glory and what we are going to experience in His presence. For what we experience now although it is wonderful, it is only a part of what is promised to us. We must remember that when we are there the glory will be far beyond anything we can imagine. In the days that Paul lived there were no mirrors like we have today. The mirrors were polished brass or silver and the reflections were not clear as we are used to.  What we see here is like a poor reflection in a cheap or defective mirror, or like a blurred picture. There we will see the real thing!