Summary
Patience and the Dim Mirror
Ancient Corinth was famous for many things—its commerce, its diversity, its immorality and idolatry, and a congregation that was, frankly, an absolute mess. It was also famous for its mirrors. But these were not the crisp glass reflections we know today; they were polished metal, giving back an image that was real but dim. When the Apostle Paul wrote, "For now we see in a mirror dimly" 1 Corinthians 13:12, the Corinthians knew exactly the picture he had in mind.
Paul's point is not about self-reflection but about our knowledge of God and His ways. "We know in part," he says 1 Corinthians 13:9. Scripture echoes this elsewhere. Zophar challenges Job, "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?" Job 11:7. The psalmist confesses that God's wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us are more than can be numbered Psalm 40:5. Paul himself bursts out, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" Romans 11:33. What Scripture reveals is true and inerrant; but it does not reveal everything. Some things are simply not given to us. As Moses said, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God" Deuteronomy 29:29.
Why is the mirror dim? Because of sin. The fall has corrupted both our minds and our vision. We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean, in bondage to sin and unable to free ourselves, and that bondage extends to our perception of God's purposes. We do not always understand why a diagnosis came as it did, why a season of life is so hard, or why God seems to act—or wait—as He does. The frustration is real: the mirror is dim, and we want it clear.
But Paul does not leave us staring into shadow. "When the complete comes, the partial will come to an end…then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:10, 1 Corinthians 13:12). The "complete" is heaven itself, won for us by the blood of Jesus Christ—the righteous one for the unrighteous—sealed by the empty tomb and applied to us in the waters of Baptism. There the servants of God "will see his face" Revelation 22:4. On that day, our knowledge will be full and every "why" will be answered.
In the meantime, the Lutheran funeral liturgy prays beautifully, "Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand." That is precisely where God teaches and empowers patience. Patience here is not resignation; it is trust grounded in what we do know. Even while we know only in part, we are fully known. God knows every detail, every struggle, every joy, every heartache. He has called us by name in Baptism as His own children.
Life this side of heaven is itself an Advent—a season of waiting for Christ's return, when Advent will at last merge into Easter in all its heavenly fullness. Until that day, amid the questions and the wondering, we patiently trust in what has been revealed: that we are deeply loved by God, redeemed through the blood of Jesus, given a place in the Father's house, and accompanied by Immanuel, God with us. The mirror is dim, but the promise is clear—and that is enough. For more, see “Patience and the Dim Mirror” 12-18-22.
Video citations
- “Patience and the Dim Mirror” 12-18-22 — Would you open up your Bible's please for our study today to 1 Corinthians the 13th chapter? If you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find 1 Corinthians the 13th chapter page…