“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.”
The Face
Paul names a genuine limitation here, through a glass, darkly, present knowledge described as partial, imperfect, not yet the fuller seeing this verse anticipates. This is worth holding as honest acknowledgment that whatever this whole book has explored remains, for now, still partial, not yet fully arrived at its complete, eventual form.
Notice the contrast: then face to face, then shall I know even as also I am known, a symmetry worth noticing directly. The knowing you currently receive from God, comprehensive and already genuinely true, this future seeing suggests you will eventually reciprocate, knowing even as you are known, full mutuality still to come.
This is worth holding as hope rather than discouragement over present partiality. The darkly of current seeing is not this book’s final word. It is honestly named, and then held alongside genuine anticipation of face to face, a fuller, more complete knowing still, genuinely, to come, not merely wished for but actually promised.
Whatever partiality you currently experience in knowing and being known, hold it today with this verse’s honest hope. Now, through a glass, darkly. Then, face to face. Both true, in their own time, the partial present honestly named, the fuller future genuinely, reliably anticipated.
Turn Your Face
- Name honestly what still feels partial or unclear in your own knowing and being known.
- Hold that partiality today alongside genuine hope for the face to face still promised.
- Trust the symmetry this verse describes, knowing eventually matching the fulness of being known.
Prayer
Lord, now I see through a glass, darkly, and know only in part. Thank you that face to face is still promised, when I shall know even as also I am known. Amen.
Carry this today
Present partiality is honest, not final. Face to face is still genuinely promised.