Tuesday, September 18, 2018

In a Mirror Dimly

(Apologies to all both of my readers for a lack of posts!)

I had a beautiful experience yesterday evening. All three of my kids are taking piano lessons and my oldest is learning a version of Canon in D by Pachelbel. That piece is a favorite of mine, so I enjoy when he practices it.

But, right now he is still learning it, and is far from mastering it. He stumbles, hits many wrong notes, drops the left hand while working on the right, and the tempo is uneven. No concert hall would let him perform at this point. He himself is frustrated. You can see it on his face when he messes up and has to backtrack.

In spite of that, I loved it.

I loved it because I can hear that beautiful piece even through his fumbling and mistakes. I know what Canon in D is supposed to sound like, and even that little taste of what his effort can do brings me joy. It reminds me of the wonderful moment when I saw my bride march down the aisle toward me before we made our vows. That was nearly 20 years ago and I love her more now than in that moment, but that was the beginning. Of course I love a reminder of her and that day.

I also love it because I love him. Stephen is 13 and for fellow parents perhaps that's enough to have a sense of where he is in life right now. He is absolutely my son; introverted, computer gamer, math brain, sees issues in black and white, and sadly (for the rest of the family) has my sense of humor. He's probably going to be taller than me. And I love him dearly. Whatever he does has value to me because he is immeasurably valuable.

Our relationship with God is described in many ways, one of which is like a parent and child. We are told to pray to him as "our father in heaven." Yesterday evening, I had a glimpse of that. In spite of my fumbling, sin, and foolishness, God knows his great sovereign plan for creation and even uses my fumbling work to bring it about. He also knows me and loves me; he loves me enough to sacrifice his own son for me.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: you are loved dearly and your good works, though tarnished by our sin and foolishness in this life, do glorify your father in heaven. Plod on in the good you do now and look forward to an even better day.


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. - I Corinthians 13:12