Maturing
There are five challenging sentences buried in St. Paul’s immortal dissertation on love in I Cor 13:10- 12 [NIV]:
1. When perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
2. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
3. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
4. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
5. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Sentences one, four, and five reïnforce my interpretation of this famous quote, which is that we will acquire a clearer vision of ourselves, and God, and our relationship to him, after we pass over to the afterlife. However, the writer of a recent entry in Forward Day-by-Day took the stance that in these famous statements St. Paul is inferring that these things will transpire here on earth as we mature in knowing ourselves better. St. Teresa of Avila agreed, explaining it this way: “The journey into God begins in self-knowledge.” These writers insist that it is only as we get to know our real selves more honestly that we can hope to know God more fully.
As I reflect on my spiritual journey over the last three-quarters of a century, I must admit that the years of therapy, 12-Step meetings, composing and giving teachings for retreats and spiritual growth groups, examining thousands of sermons, and hard emotional work—all these stimulated my interest in, study of, and intimacy with my Father as He comes to me in his Son.
Is this coïncidence? Was I pursuing both endeavors simultaneously independent of each other, or were they inevitably connected? To which did St. Paul refer—the here or the hereafter—or was it both?
Of one thing I am convinced: without my continuing to grow in my relationship with Jesus, my life would wither into uselessness and meaninglessness as I become older. How grateful I am that we have so many opportunities for this progress, each on his own path.
1. When perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
2. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
3. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
4. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
5. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Sentences one, four, and five reïnforce my interpretation of this famous quote, which is that we will acquire a clearer vision of ourselves, and God, and our relationship to him, after we pass over to the afterlife. However, the writer of a recent entry in Forward Day-by-Day took the stance that in these famous statements St. Paul is inferring that these things will transpire here on earth as we mature in knowing ourselves better. St. Teresa of Avila agreed, explaining it this way: “The journey into God begins in self-knowledge.” These writers insist that it is only as we get to know our real selves more honestly that we can hope to know God more fully.
As I reflect on my spiritual journey over the last three-quarters of a century, I must admit that the years of therapy, 12-Step meetings, composing and giving teachings for retreats and spiritual growth groups, examining thousands of sermons, and hard emotional work—all these stimulated my interest in, study of, and intimacy with my Father as He comes to me in his Son.
Is this coïncidence? Was I pursuing both endeavors simultaneously independent of each other, or were they inevitably connected? To which did St. Paul refer—the here or the hereafter—or was it both?
Of one thing I am convinced: without my continuing to grow in my relationship with Jesus, my life would wither into uselessness and meaninglessness as I become older. How grateful I am that we have so many opportunities for this progress, each on his own path.
posted by Bill Stecher at 1:08 PM
0 comments
