Blurred Vision - I Corinthians 13:12
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
Some times the pathway is clearly seen, but at other times it’s hard to see where we are going. Sometimes our vision is clear, at other times it’s very blurry. As Paul said, “now we see through a glass, darkly.” (I Corinthians 13:12) Last week, during the Discussion Hour following the morning service, a lot of attention focused on the idea that Jesus is both scout and guide. This continued to be on my mind as I traveled to Pittsburgh on Monday. You see, I had decided to drive my daughter back to college - I could have put her on the train or bus, and it would have taken 3 hours plus $60-80 for the ticket. Instead I drove the 750 miles, taking me 15 hours plus $60-80 for gas, tolls and coffee. A foolish decision? Not really. I had decided to do this a couple weeks ago for the main purpose of having some one-on-one time. My daughter would only be home for 4 days, and that would be during the very busy Easter weekend. The trip out, lunch, and the loading of a few items into the car went very well, but by then it had started to rain. The prospect of driving back in the rain wasn't appealing, but the real problem came somewhere between Altoona and Port Matilda when the windshield wipers began to slow down. Soon "slow" turned to "intermittent," which is no fun while driving Interstate 80 at 70 mph in company with huge trucks shedding tons of water. It was then that I began to get the life lesson. Most of the time, the view in front was very blurred by rivers of water flowing across the glass. Interestingly, the view out of my rear view mirror was clear as could be. Isn’t that the way it usually is? Looking back, everything is so clear – as they say, hind-sight is 20/20! For a while, it was seemingly miraculous - just when I needed it most, the wipers would suddenly come to life and I could see clearly again. Soon I realized that my best situation was when no vehicle would be immediately in front of me and none passing, so I tried to pace my speed to keep up with the rest of traffic so others would not be constantly passing me and throwing up water. But then, when the highway was on an incline, the trucks would slow, and I would have to pass them. It was then that I developed a newfound appreciation for the SUV. There had been a time when I coveted such a vehicle, until I learned how expensive they were to buy and feed, and how prone they were to tipping over. Then I decided SUVs were nothing but a prideful status symbol at best, or a perhaps a vehicle chosen primarily for its intimidation factor. However, now I found the SUV to be extremely helpful. When, with it's large bright rear lights, the SUV passed a truck, even if my wipers did not happen to work right then, I could navigate past the huge spray of water as I fixed my eyes on those red beacon lights. So, on I drove, all the while thinking of this verse, “now we see through a glass, darkly.” There was one part of the road I dreaded, when it would wind its way along the river through the Delaware Water Gap. By the time I reached it, daylight had been spent, the rain had increased, the road was more narrow, and the wipers had almost completely expired. However, once again help was available by way of a timid tractor-trailer truck driver. Without knowing it, driving very slowly, he led me gingerly through this difficult passage. Safely emerging, there was only one other worry - how would I ever be able to read the sign indicating my exit? Just then, precisely at the right spot, though they had seemed lifeless for several minutes, the wipers kicked on for one swipe, allowing me to see the sign and prepare for the exit. By now I was pretty weary from the stress, so I found my way to the truck stop restaurant for a brief break. I knew I still had an hour of country road driving, how in the world would I be able to make it the rest of the way home? It was then that I remembered I had once experienced a similar problem when all it took was a little nudge to get the wipers working again. Digging around in the trunk, I found a plastic shopping bag, ripped it down the sides, and looped one handle around the blade, twisted it to the shape of a rope, and stung the other handle through the slightly opened window so I could pull on it to jerk the blade into activity. Leaving the well-lit restaurant parking area, I now plunged into the darkness of a lonely country road where I found another comforting guide - the little reflectors implanted along the nearly invisible center line. After another torturous hour of blurred vision, it was an indescribable relief to finally steer the car into the driveway of home. So, what was the lesson? Life is often much like traveling down a darkened road with a very blurry vision. It even seems that many efforts are being marshaled to make visibility even worse – like huge 18 wheelers throwing up clouds of water to make a hard situation nearly impossible. In our lives, who or what are represented by these large, water shedding vehicles that nearly blind us so that we cannot find our way? Well, it may be people with oversized egos who couldn’t care less about how we’re doing, only interested in their own drive to get ahead. Or they might be people who we may characterize as being “super-spiritual,” blowing us away with their boasts of spiritual accomplishments. Or, these blinding entities may turn out to be such things as guilt or fear. We cannot even see God because all we see is our own sin, and our unbelief keeps us from accepting His full and free forgiveness. Some might even be blinded by fear of the evil one who threatens to “steal, kill and destroy.” On the other hand, sometimes God:
2. Provides someone to lead the way, or 3. Places markers on the roadway. 1) Without any apparent explanation, suddenly the confusion just disappears – we wake up one morning and everything makes sense at last. Dale Pollard, after pursuing and teaching to college students all the answers provided by humanistic psychology, came to a moment of truth when he realized that none of them really worked. In the middle of a lecture, he froze up. The next day, to avoid facing the class again, he played a tape, cut the class short and went to the college’s biofeedback lab, not to use the equipment, but just to be alone. Once there, he began to weep uncontrollably for over an hour. The next morning, at his customary Saturday morning breakfast at a favorite restaurant, Dale began to cry again, and ran into the bathroom where he realized that the tears were tears of joy as he finally yielded everything to God. Suddenly the confusion and fog he had endured for years was gone. (Harmony in Christian Marriage by T. Dale Pollard) 2) Some people are blessed by having someone available nearby who is strong in faith, has demonstrated a stable walk with the Lord, knows the Word, and is a person who is compassionate and prayerful. We get in behind them and “follow them as they follow Christ.” Would to God the church would be more involved in helping people find such models and mentors. 3) The markers in the roadway represent circumstances outside our control, but which help direct our paths. They may be opportunities which are like open doors, or unsolicited advice from a friend or even a stranger. There may even be times when there’s nothing to do but pull over and wait out the storm. Many years ago, Mosie Lister wrote a song that well expresses this idea:
In the dark of the midnight Have I oft hid my face, While the storms howl above me, And there's no hiding place. 'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry, "Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by." Many times Satan whispered, "There is no use to try, For there's no end of sorrow, There's no hope by and by." But I know Thou art with me, And tomorrow I'll rise Where the storms never darken the skies. When the long night has ended, And the storms come no more, Let me stand in Thy presence On that bright, peaceful shore. In that land where the tempest Never comes, Lord, may I Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by. 'Til the storm passes over, 'Til the thunder sounds no more, 'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky. Hold me fast, Let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand; Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by. There are two companion stories in the Gospels where the first disciples were caught in blinding storms. In one, while they panicked, Jesus was found sleeping in the boat. In the other, the one that most interests us here, Jesus came to His disciples walking on the water. In Mark’s account, it appeared that although He came to them out of His concern for their struggling against the storm, from their view point, it looked as though He was going to walk right past them (Mark 6:48). Not being able to see clearly, they became terrified, thinking that this must be a ghost, and they cried out in fear. What’s worse than not being able to see? Undoubtedly, seeing, but not seeing well enough to identify correctly what it is that you’re seeing. In this case, it was Jesus, but the disciples thought it was a ghost, which to them would signify something evil rather than the comforting presence of Jesus. Once more, let’s go back to Paul’s statement, “now we see through a glass, darkly.” One question Bible students ask is whether Paul is talking about a mirror, or glass. Obviously, if this had been written in an earlier time, it would have clearly referred to mirrors which were actually made of polished metal (Job 37:18; Exodus 38:8). If this were the case, Paul would be saying, wouldn’t you rather have the real person in front of you rather than see a mere reflection? For us it could be extended to say, wouldn’t you rather see the person rather than just have a photograph? On the other hand, it is very possible that people of Paul’s generation knew about glass, at least in the form of drinking vessels. As early as 1700 BC, and continuing through 100 AD, there was a primitive method of making glass using molds. One known Roman glassmaker in the first century was a man by the name of Ennion. A signed cup of his (“Ennion made me. Let the buyer remember him!") was found at Corinth in a sealed deposit together with a coin of A.D. 37-41, proving that the Corinthians of Paul’s day would certainly be familiar with glass made this way. However, such glass was ground to shape using stones, sand and water, and thus would be of very poor quality compared to what we have today, and would certainly obscure any thing or person seen through it. And notice also that Paul said, “we see through a glass,” not “we see in a glass.” The word “darkly” is actually a combination of two Greek words which literally mean, “an enigma.” The verb form of this word is defined this way: “to hint, intimate, signify with some degree of obscurity; an enigma [is when] one thing answers or stands in correspondence to, or as the representative of, another, which is in some respects similar to it.” (Parkhurst) It is very possible that Paul had in mind the statement God made concerning Moses, “With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles” (Numbers 12: 8). And isn’t this what Jesus did when He spoke to the crowds in parables? Sometimes a follow-up explanation would be given to His close disciples, but much of what He said, and in fact much of the Bible is left open for various interpretations. Why do you think we have so many different churches with varying doctrinal statements; and every one of them convinced that they alone have the truth? No, we don’t like it! We want to see the way clearly. We despise confusion and uncertainty. “Please don’t make me drive through the rain without wipers. I don’t want to walk through an unfamiliar house, in the dark of night. I don’t want to mistake Jesus for a ghost. I don’t want to confuse an angel with a devil or be duped by a false prophet.” But the reality is, “now we see through a glass, darkly.” I wish I could tell you that the wipers will always work, or that there will always be an SUV to lead the way or an 18 wheeler to guide you through the Gap, or at least bright reflectors on the road in front of you. But then I’m reminded of what Paul said in II Corinthians 5:7 “We live by faith, not by sight.” In the very next verse he says, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” For then, in the new heavenly kingdom, at last we will have the sight. One of the most ancient of all Biblical writers said it first, said it best, and said it for all of us, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes -- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19: 25-27) Life consists of good days and bad days, sunshine and storms. But soon this life will be over and we will be transported into the eternal kingdom where there is always light. “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
I Corinthians 13:12 1. Have you had the experience of not being able to see clearly, and perhaps thought that God Himself had abandoned you? 2. What are some examples of the often repeated quote, “hind-sight is 20/20”? 3. In our lives, who or what are represented by the large, water shedding vehicles that nearly blind us so that we cannot find our way? 4. Three ways have been identified where God comes to our aid when we are in a time of uncertainty and confusion and can’t seem to find our way. What are they? 5. Is there something we can do to promote the helpfulness of having models and mentors for Christian living? What is it that discourages this from happening? 6. Can you relate a personal example when God used circumstances to help provide guidance and direction? 7. How would a person “wait out the storm” when it comes to the problems of life? 8. What two Gospel stories tell about Disciples in a storm, and where was Jesus in each of them? 9. When the first disciples could not see clear, what “mistaken identity” problem arose? 10. Why does “glass” rather than “mirror” make more sense in the statement of Paul? 11. The “now” is this life. What is the “then” and how will it be different?  - - Return to Top of this Page
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