Waiting for Dawn

It’s dark outside, and I’m waiting for dawn. I’m in my living room, reading and thinking, by the light of my little lamp. As I sit by my east-facing window, all I can see is my own pathetic reflection in the window pane--a distorted image with bed-head, still wearing pajamas. As the light appears slowly, my reflection gets fainter. I can see beyond myself. The sun has not risen yet, but the eastern sky foreshadows its arrival. I see the silhouette of trees, a rabbit scurrying across the backyard, and the outline of clouds. As I wait for the sun to appear, I realize I’ve forgotten about my image in the window. I look for it again, but it is gone.

Before God’s light appears, all we can see is our own reflection. We focus on this imperfect image of ourselves and our living space, illuminated only by our own light. Yet, even the faintest pre-dawn light is enough to help us see beyond the windows enclosing ourselves. As we are mesmerized by all that God’s light reveals, we no longer focus on our pathetic lives.  

“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 Cor. 13:12 NLT)