The sky is dim today.
No, there are not any clouds, but the heavens are dim here in western Pennsylvania. It first became noticeable yesterday evening; sunset was just, well, odd. The sun was red, and looked almost like a hole in the sky. This morning, I saw the sun not long after sunrise as I was driving back from the YMCA. It was brighter than the moon, yet even after it was elevated up a number of degrees above the horizon, there was no sunshine on the trees and buildings. There were no shadows.
The sky is dim today.
And so I got to thinking about a passage from Scripture. You know the one where Paul says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
You see, there are times when I do think I know many of the things of God; that I getting where I want to be…and then…things get dim. The reality is that I do know the things of God, but only in part. God has been gracious to let me understand some. But the dim mirror is frustrating sometimes. There are just some things that I am not to know. At least for now. But even if I can’t see them, the things of God are genuine.
The day will come when I will see those things with a crystal clarity; but the reality is they may not matter anymore as I stand before his radiant presence. The day will come; I have perfect confidence in that. But, as far as I can tell, that day is not today.
And the day will come, soon, I expect, when our days brighten up here in western Pennsylvania. You see, our skies are marred right now by a high layer of smoke; smoke from the calamitous fires out west. People hurt; property damaged, wildlands scarred. We can’t see those things from 2500 miles away, but we can dimly see the consequences. The consequences are genuine.
So we pray for the folks out west. And I pray for a clearing of the mirrors.
The sky is dim today.
But it will not remain this way forever….
