“Then we will see everything with perfect clarity.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT
The promise of good is incomplete without the process of being conformed.
My thoughts and comments today are about “clarity.”
What I have observed about myself and others is this: we cannot know everything we need to know, and often don’t understand everything we think we know. That is especially true when it comes to matters involving God’s will and His actions (or presumed inaction) in everyday life. Are you perplexed about something God has done, or more particularly a time when God hasn’t done what you wanted or believed He would? Sometimes in one’s life of faith, there seem to be more questions than answers.
Understanding can become a bit clouded, less clear than may feel comfortable to you. I have friends who live with serious health issues, and have for too long of a time. They are good people; they have served God faithfully, often carrying the burden of others’ needs. Maybe your present situation is like theirs in one way or another – a marriage that doesn’t heal, a prodigal who doesn’t return, financial crises that aren’t resolved. How does your heart and mind personally reconcile God’s righteous character and gracious care with the apparent absence of relief to dear people who trust God – loving and serving Him – even in the face of their own dire needs? My friend, Dennis, wisely observed that our present experience is safely” bound within God’s sovereignty, not our own choice or devil’s device.” Our time continuum is so small, eternity so vast.
Faith must occasionally wrestle with an apparent gap between God’s wisdom in a particular circumstance and His will and character as expressed in the Bible. In spite of what may first appear, there is no inconsistency. The Apostle Paul experienced such times and found satisfaction in God’s answer, “My grace is sufficient for you.” See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV. There is a day when God gives clarity, but that day is not necessarily this day. This verse describes both psychic pain and spiritual promise, “Now we see things imperfectly . . but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT. Just as God knows! What a day that will be.
Here is the problem as I see it. The Bible says our knowledge and understanding are “imperfect, partial and incomplete.” There are times and situations when the miniscule portion of reality you see is not the full reality, until you are able to understand more clearly all that God is doing in this moment and how your small puzzle piece complements the over-arching purposes and providence of God. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God . . who are called according to His purpose . . to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Romans 8:28-29 NAS. The promise of good is incomplete without the process of being conformed. Romans 12:1-2 NIV.
The Bible’s good news is this. “Then you will see everything with perfect clarity . . then you will know everything completely, just as God knows you now.” Supposed ambiguity can yield to profound clarity about the will of God, when balanced with the eternal wisdom with which He lovingly and sovereignly directs the affairs of your life as well as His church and world. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge God and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV. Life requires trust; trust yields spiritual clarity.
My prayer for you today is that you will be clear about Who God is and what He does.