When I was a child, I used to speak like a child,
think like a child, reason like a child;
when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
– 1 Corinthians 13:11
She was barely a teen-ager, just stepping into that turbulent age between exerting her new-found sense of independence and realizing how little she still knew about anything.
One day I asked her to do something she really didn’t want to do. She plead her case with evangelistic fervor, stomped her foot when I wouldn’t give in, and stormed to her room in indignation. She didn’t slam the door, because she knew I would make her come back out and close it gently. But she’d made her point.
I didn’t give in to her emotional entreaties, because I knew her. I knew what was best for her, and I knew she would understand eventually.
Little did I know that same week God would call me to do something that would involve a sacrifice of my own. I got on my knees and argued fervently with God. I cried and pleaded. I stomped my foot and ran to my room. Just then, mid-tantrum, a mental picture of my teenager wrapped in her righteous indignation popped into my mind – and I was instantly ashamed of myself.
I wasn’t a child anymore. Childish things like rebellion and arguing with my heavenly Father weren’t fitting for a mature person. It was time to put them aside and grow up.
I listened to God, surrendered to His call, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. That should have been obvious, because God never makes mistakes. He knows me completely, and He knows the way ahead.
For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face;
now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
– 1 Corinthians 13:12
The riddle
The literal translation of 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “We see through a mirror in a riddle.” The world we see is a mere reflection of what is really happening in this universe. Life is a riddle because God hasn’t let us in on the full picture. Our lives are a maze, and for now the path ahead is always just beyond our view. It takes maturity to realize Father knows best and trust He will guide us safely through to the other side, when we will see Him face and face and finally say, “Now I understand.”
