”For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:” Whenever there is an eclipse of the sun, the newspapers always warn the public not to look into the sun with the naked eye, but to view the eclipse through very dark smoked glass. Even though the public is warned, there are always incidents of people failing to heed the warning and doing permanent damage to their eyes. It can even cause blindness.

The glass that is dark enough to view an eclipse safely is so dark that when used to look about, it is almost impossible to see anything at all. 1f we were to wear glasses that dark we would for all intents and purposes be blind. We do not know just how dark is the glass in Paul’s example but we can surely get the point that now in our mortal condition we do not really see anything as God sees it. In the dark, harmless figures seem frightening and we are always relieved when the first rays of dawn dispel our fears of the night.

We remember when our Lord was crucified, that there was an apparent eclipse of the sun for we are told that ’the sun was darkened,” and ”from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.” For the most part, those who witnessed the death of the King of the Jews were blind, for Jesus said of them, ”they be blind leaders of the blind.” He went on to say that ”if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” ”These wicked men looked upon the Son of God and they were blind. We are now living some 2000 years later and as we look back upon the Son, we are seeing through a glass, darkly. We do not see things as clearly as they really are but if we continue to fix our gaze upon the Son of God faithfully, one day in the future we will see him face to face. Because of our faulty spiritual vision, we do not see clearly so we cannot understand just why some things are as they are. When Jesus comes, we will be able to look back and see how all the things that are happening to us really are working together for good, even if we cannot understand it now.

A wise man who is blind will allow a sighted friend to lead him by the hand over treacherous terrain and we need to be wise in saying to our Heavenly Father, as we sometimes sing, ”Lead me, Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness; make Thy way plain before my face: For it is Thou, Lord, Thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety.”

When things happen for which we have no explanation, let us be wise and acknowledge that we do not see things now from God’s vantage point and trust Him to lead us in righteousness for He truly will make us to dwell in safety in the end in His Kingdom.

This same Paul who wisely advises us that we are now seeing through a dark glass, did not always see clearly for he was kicking against the pricks as he persecuted the disciples of the Son of God. It took a great light from heaven shining down upon him and striking him with blindness before he saw the error of his way and changed directions to follow the son of God. The question he asked trembling should be the question we all ask, ”Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

This is the humble attitude we all should adopt. Let us then accept in faith the things unseen and ask the Lord to lead us in His righteousness. He will answer our prayer by making His way plain before our face and he will make us to dwell in safety for truly if we trust in the Lord with all our heart and we do not lean upon our own understanding, if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, then we have His assurance that He will direct our paths.