Though we cannot fully see God now, the day is coming when we will see his full glory.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror,
but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.
All that I know now is partial and incomplete,
but then I will know everything completely,
just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:12 New Living Translation

Eugene, Oregon
Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Though my hometown of Eugene, Oregon was in the grip of a severe drought when I took this picture, there was a great deal of life reflected in the birds that inhabited the Delta Ponds. When I first saw this bird I thought it was a baby blue heron (you can stop laughing all you ornithologists) until I discovered it was a much smaller green heron.

Though there were many blue herons feeding in the ponds, this was the only green heron I spotted, and I didn’t see him for long (and yes, if you read yesterday’s blog, this is the same log on which the duck and duckling stood). In fact, most of these herons only spend the summer among the marshes and ponds of the Willamette Valley.

Personifying this bird, it looks like he’s checking out his reflection in the water (yes, I know it’s fishing). What does he see? The water distorts his image. What he sees isn’t what he actually looks like. Will he forget his portrait when he flies away? Many of us forget what we look like the moment we step away from a mirror.

Paul refers to our life as looking into a mirror and dimly seeing our reflection. The people of Corinth made polished bronze mirrors, but these mirrors were imperfect and didn’t reflect a true image.

Seeing God is much like looking into an imperfect bronze mirror. His glory is reflected all around us. We  see his imprint in creation, yet this creation also hides a perfect view of our God. We know his image but only dimly. His image is best reflected in a cross and an empty tomb. We see God in what Jesus did for us.

The day is coming when there will be no ripples in the water, no imperfections in the polished bronze and we will see God. Our comfort today is not that we fully see or understand God, but that he fully knows us, loves us, forgives us and walks with us.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner