Through a glass darkly

There is in my life a person
Who sees me as lovely -
As a beautiful Child of God

Who accepts me for who I am,
In all of my flawed humanity and
Loves me in spite of my faults.

Who asks nothing in return but that
I do the same.

What a joy to find , in this fallen world
The love of God and Christ
So mirrored in another human being
And how blessed am I to know the privilege
Of being called to return this love.

Often through this example
And God's Word
I find the strength I need
To see myself as God sees me
And to find the strength
To love others in His Love.

Somehow though, this view becomes
Clouded
and
Distorted
In my own eyes and in the eyes of Others.
Clouded by fear,
Clouded by the distortion of truth,
Clouded by the innate mistrust that is human nature.

It is then that I forget.
Forget that I am a beloved Daughter Of God,
Forget that I am washed in His blood and
made a new and beautiful creation
By His redemptive work upon Calvary.

It is then that I begin to fail
Fail to see myself and others with His love and
It is then that I come to see the truth.

The truth that we must all continually go
To the mirror of His Word
(and indeed even, His Word mirrored in others)
Not only find our need for Redemptive Grace
But also to find our strength in
Christ's examples of
True Love,
Forgiveness,
Understanding,
and Righteousness.
It is only then that the clouds are lifted
And we can begin to see our selves,
And each other through Christ's eyes
And give and receive Love.

-Jennifer Brooke Martin
January 5, 2000