For 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.

1 Corinthians 13:12

I have this theory about Bible study – especially in the discussion-based setting we use with the men here at Howard Memorial. It’s based on the classic definitions for conferring college degrees.

• Bachelor’s degree: well-rounded exposure and understanding in a field of knowledge.
• Masters degree: not only conversant but demonstrating a level of mastery that qualifies the recipient to teach that subject.
• Doctorate: all of the above plus research-driven creation of new knowledge.

Creation of New Knowledge. This happens time and again in our Bible study. Here is how it unfolds:

The guys read the selected Bible passage ahead of time, maybe do some research, think about it, let it percolate and pray. The leader does some extra work in terms of preparation and prepares some questions. The guys also bring their life experiences to the table, their faith and what God has been teaching them. Then we pray, asking God to be present and to teach us.

All of this gets spilled out onto the table. Then the Holy Spirit leans in and stirs it all together.

Finally, at some point during the teaching and the prayer and the conversation and the testimonies and the standard learning curve, somebody almost always says “Ahah!” before sharing some unexpected insight that has bubbled up. Then, usually, everyone else says “Ahah!” too. This is New Knowledge, unique to that moment, generated by faith and understanding and trust and the presence of the Holy.

PhD’s conferred all around!

The “Ahah!” for the day:

This week we were talking about the role of mystery in faith, the idea that our relationship to the Holy is often no more than a tentative point of interface between the mortal and the immortal, the temporal and the eternal, the limits of our understanding and the ocean depths of glory and love and beauty that wash against the shores of our humanity.

“Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.” – 1 Corinthians 13:12 – NIRV

As we were talking I thought about this fogginess in the way we see, the way that we perceive. I thought about how peering carefully into the fog, cautiously, re-tuning our senses, is more effective than turning on the high-beam because then – like driving in the fog – all we can see is our own light, reflected back.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly;” the King James translates with such poetry, “but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

So we need to dim our own light if we are going to see anything in this mirror, this glass. What lies beyond the blinding reflection of ourselves? Maybe if we are more patient, and more open in our own spirits, more humble, more willing to surrender… maybe then we will begin to see?

“Ahah!” – DEREK