“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.” (1Corinthians 13:12)
Having a hidden agenda is something that we fall
privy too when we lack understanding. It proves that we lack faith. How so one
may ask? Faith has its demands; it believes God and then it irrefutably obeys
His instruction without question and then it goes on to prove that the hearer
walks by faith in obedience to God’s commands and only then will they receive
their commendation. To measure our faith in Christ is so profound and yet so
simple to test; here is the father of faiths example; “By faith Abraham obeyed
when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an
inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) – God said go and he went, God then pledged Him a son
of promise and when he was old and past the age of fathering children and with
Sarah long past the flower of her youth she bore Isaac, the son of promise.
What I see from this marvellous account and what
lead up to this miraculous event was simply this; God is not bound by time, nor
is he bothered by it, we on the other hand are driven by it and it therefore
gets us to act unwisely when the pressure is on. Sarah tried to help God with
his promise by giving Hagar to Abraham to father a child; Ishmael was born to
her by his seed. However he was not the son of promise. God does not need our
help, we need his.
Faith ousts the voices of doubt regardless of the
stacked odds that shouts “fold”. We will all face similar challenges which
will test our faith and what it consist of; lip-service or an action that
brings glory to our God and Father, praise His name, Amen! We must learn to
have this verse inscribed upon our awareness if we are to soldier on; “If God
be for us who can be against us”.
All a hidden agenda proves is that the mirror we
look into is so damaged that we fool ourselves into thinking it may be
overlooked. Like for like might well play in the same arena but as for God’s
corner we are fully known by Him, nothing slips His attention. Now with that in
mind we have to conclude that there is nothing under the sun or above it that
will catch our God and Father off guard. Sin on the other hand will always look
to deceive us into believing lies that lead us to consider that we may just
slip something past His attention. As we look back on our lives it will soon
become apparent that we have evaded some form of punishment through the
trickery of our lies, which in itself leaves us feeling triumphant. "Phew", that
was close! We may have fooled the relevant parties but we will never trump God,
praise His name and the sooner we make this reality our own the freer we will
be to serve Him with a clear conscience.
How I long for the day when I will see
my God and Father alongside my great Saviour face to face; I know that I am
known in full, for God is Sovereign, He sees me as I am, with ever crevice of my persona bare before him with absolutely nothing hidden. As for me understanding the magnitude of who my God and
Father is in His entirety; I looked through the glazed window of faith where my vision is blurred;
I need The Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures working in tandem to help me see
the truths of that world which is beyond the veil and in order to achieve this I need
eyes of faith; a world where time does not exist as we know it. I know the
essence of what is true, but I only know in part, there is a day coming when I
will know in full and what a day that shall be. Just as the Word and the Spirit
work in tandem so too do we need our faith and hope to work in juxtaposition; a
great help to alleviate the doubts of sin or unbelief if you prefer as it looks to penetrate the barrier
of our victory in Christ.
Here is another thought that will help us focus on
our hope in Him. If we were to remove time from our day, where would that leave
us? When we strip down time we see that is no more that a management tool to
help us manage the days and season of our lives. Think about how our lives are
structure around it. In eternity time has no bearing for it is a never ending
reality. God is eternal, He has no beginning nor shall He ever have an end.
Impossible to grasp if viewed through the eyes of a time chart. Eternity and
time does not correlate, how could it? It’s like trying to get oil and water to
mix. Faith is the mechanism which bridges the gap and the Lord Jesus has
permitted those who believe on Him to see these truths through the eyes of
faith. Without us repenting and accepting His sacrifice for our sin we will
remain blind to the blurriness which merges the divide. Now we can only
discern things at a great distance, as through a telescope, and that involved
in clouds and obscurity; but after time has run its course our eyes shall be
fully opened; and our knowledge will be free from all obscurity and error. We
will never grasp the fullness of who God is on this side of the gulf. However
we will see enough to understand the call that He has placed on all of our
lives. “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.” (1Corinthians
13:12)
Faith in the finished work of Calvary allows us the
privileged position, VIP seats that allow us to gaze across the gulf of time
into eternity and the finished work of the cross and the Bible is the time
machine that allows us to get there if and when we are strapped into its
cockpit with the seat-belt of faith strapped tightly in place.
This is what we see on the other side; a never
ending existence that all will be privy too in one form or another, with heaven
or hell as our final destination; a place of eternal joy, where we will have no
more tears or sadness filling our days due to varying disappointments or a
place filled with relinquishing pain and torment where the so called wise men
of the world will be brought low and they will be exposed as fools, those who
thought that they could conquer God. Hell with all it gnashing will be their
lot in eternity.
This may seems like a harsh reality, nevertheless its true in
accordance with the teachings of scripture and the time for pulling punches and
candy coating the truth is something I am looking to avoid, time is short and
we only get one crack at this life; therefore let us embrace the day and
resolve to be honest with people even if we are frown upon for it.
Signing off
Tyrone
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