Leviticus 11-12

Matthew 26:1-25

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 
—1 Corinthians 13:12

God’s love welcomes us just as we are, but His love 
also disciplines us to be conformed to His likeness. In 
1 Corinthians 13:11, Paul talks about the maturing process: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” If we take a look around our world today, there are a lot of children trapped in adult bodies; in other words, they are adults but they are still behaving like children. Why? Because children think the world revolves around their own needs; they want what they want when they want it and throw tantrums when they do not get it. There are some adults who still live with that mindset. They are self-absorbed, searching for significance that is rooted in their own desire to be important.

Yet, for some, as they grow older, by God’s grace and His activity in their lives they begin to mature and realize how little they know. Looking back in my (Brett McBride’s) life, when I first got saved at 23, I thought I knew it all. I thought the world was easy and if everybody would just listen to me this whole thing would be way better. But then I got into my 30’s and life started to happen where suffering showed up, brokenness showed up, children happened and along with it came dirty diapers and sleepless nights, and friends started to experience calamity. All of a sudden, this confidence and certainty that I had started to evaporate. When I entered my 40’s, I started to realize that I had some behaviours that were childish. I brought them before God and prayed “Lord, would You help me with this? Would you fashion something different here?” It was not an easy process, but God was shaping me—shaping us—into something that reflects His likeness. Even at 50 now, God is still not done with me.

Paul beautifully describes our current immaturity in 1 Corinthians 11:12: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Paul compares our time on earth to looking at a mirror. In the ancient Near East, mirrors were made of polished bronze, which were not good. But Paul looks forward to the day when Christ will come back and we will see Him face to face. All the impurities and imperfections will disappear and we will be made perfect in love.

Dear Jesus, how glorious that day will be when I see you face to face. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to help me put away my childish ways and shape me into Your likeness. Thank You, Jesus.