Day 9--No Shadow, No Glass
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| A lovely, but temporal, hibiscus bloom--reminds me of a sea creature washed up on shore. |
Our lives are full of variables---like the light I wrote about yesterday, a result of the sun's rotation. Even beyond our planet, stars and entire galaxies come and go. Naming only a few here on earth, we have the water cycle, nitrogen cycle, rock cycle, and the ever revolving seasons. Though these cycles keep life interesting, they leave us at the mercy of shifting sands---all is mutable, changing. Solomon wrestled with this repeatedly in Ecclesiastes:
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,and hastens to the place where it rises.The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north;around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.All streams run to the sea,but the sea is not full;to the place where the streams flow,there they flow again.-Ecclesiastes 1:5-7
I struggle with personal cycles too. Didn't I just go the store? Weed that bed? Clean the car? Make dinner? Exercise? Tell my daughter not to?...
"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." James 1:17Our world is variable. We are variable. But mercifully, He is not.
He never "casts a shifting shadow" when everything else does. What a gift!
This is particularly helpful when my circumstances shift--as they do regularly--sometimes abruptly. At these times, I must go back to what I do know instead of dreading new unknowns: What is His nature? What is He like? Is He surprised? Does He know about this? How long has He known?
The crux of the matter is that we are temporal (from Latin, temporālis: of or relating to time), saturated by time and subject to it. We are continually accosted by change, so how can we not be shaped by the winds? In contrast, God is outside of time and space, He's not subject to them. He is immutable (from Latin, immūtābilis, unchanging.)
This means that though I may be surprised, He's not. Ever. He's never shell-shocked as I might be or at a loss. It may seem basic, but I need basic. I am not immutable, so I forget. I forget many things--more and more all the time---dates, names, keys, and most unfortunately, His nature. I have blindspots. I make mistakes. And after many years of denial, I am increasingly aware of how significantly my emotions can color my perception of things.
I think that sometimes we make wrong assumptions about God, just as we do about people. We make snap judgments. We attribute motives. We look at God and other people through our limited lenses and presume too much.
A minute ago, Grace firmly insisted that there was no maple syrup in the refrigerator. Yes, she is absolutely positive. Yes, she has looked everywhere. No, There is no syrup to be had! But when I get up and look myself, lo and behold, there is the syrup. And not always hidden in a back corner either--it's more often in plain sight.
If we can make a mistake about something as simple as syrup, might we make mistakes in other areas as well? Especially when we are tired, rushed, or emotional. As much as we don't care to admit it, we interpret the world through our flawed temporal lenses. In stark contrast, God sees His creation with perfect immutable vision.
The good news is that this won't always be the case. Someday our vision will be corrected and our understanding increased. Paul's perspective in 1 Corinthians encourages me in this regard:
"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 13:12We only know now in part, and even then, what we see is shaped by our imperfect vision. How much more satisfying will it be to know Him fully someday, as He knows us...face-to-face...with perfect clarity?
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I found an old ultrasound of David when cleaning the basement--
"through a glass, darkly"--How much more fully do I know and love him now?
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