A Dim View Of Reality

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” – Deuteronomy 29:29

Paul tells us that we see through a glass dimly but then face to face (I Corinthians 13:12). Why do we see dimly? What is it that is dim or not clear? Though he doesn’t spell it out, the very experiences of life don’t always square with Scripture. We are puzzled by many of life’s strange twists. We see and hear about things that don’t make much sense in light of what God says. He tells us He will never leave us or forsake us, but many situations in life dim the view of such a promise.

Something dims the clarity of His Word as it enters into our hearts. Can we find any clues in Scripture that may help us in this? When the Lord clearly defined the parameters for Adam and Eve regarding the forbidden tree, what dimmed their understanding? Satan offered another interpretation. Through sin, darkness came over the human soul. Redemption restores the light but dimness still has its way. Abraham understood God’s call and he departed from his homeland, but fear soon made the call unclear as he feared for his life while entering Egypt. Saul understood the call of God but disobedience and jealousy clouded the Word of God. Anger got the best of Moses and watching wicked people prosper veiled the eyes of Asaph. Simply put, sin keeps us from seeing Him clearly. Paul goes on to say, “but then face to face.” This is an expression of clarity. What will we have in heaven that will give us such clarity? Lack of sin.

We have a principle here. The more obedient we are, the more clarity we have in this life. The fog will never lift totally until Heaven; but as we follow Him closely, we will see more clearly. If we look back over church history, those who seemed to know Him best were those who “loved not the world.” These are always people who see life as a pilgrimage and thus were given a clearer vision of the Savior. That’s the way I see things.