Frankenstein

             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. (I Corinthians 13:12)

 

            Have you ever read Frankenstein? Have you seen any of the movies? If I were to ask you about the story, I’ll bet you could tell me at least a little about it, even if you’ve never read, seen, or heard it. I thought I’d read it at some point, but over the past 18 days, I read it for what must be the first time.

            Others have suggested that God and Christianity are a lot that way. Everyone thinks they know “the story.” They know all about God or all about Christianity. Some inform us that they would never worship a God who ______, or that the God they worship would never _______. It’s not that they are necessarily wrong about God being unwilling to do something, but I have to wonder where they got the idea. Others say they want nothing to do with Christianity or Church because Christians are hypocrites. Curiously, one of their complaints is about Christians judging. Um. They’re right; Christians do judge. Often too much. But doesn’t it require judging in order to declare someone to be judging or hypocritical?

            The problem doesn’t go away when someone becomes a Christian. The whole point of today’s verse is that we start out seeing only a reflection – or in other translations, through a glass darkly. Over time, we come to see face-to-face. It’s important to keep this in mind. It’s also important that we practice being good Bereans, who look into Scripture to make sure that what we’re telling ourselves, and what others are telling us, are what Scripture really says.