through a glass darkly

For now we see through a glass darkly (1 Corithians 13:12)

Clearly seeing unbiased reality is sort of like being omniscient. None of us are any more capable of this wisdom than we are of absolute purity or righteousness; although it is something that we can and must strive toward; a life-long venture.

As observers in a life gone mad, stimuli bombarding our senses, knowledge exploding, technology growing at astonishing rates, we forget . . ..

We forget that our understanding is limited, our perspectives are just a sliver of the whole, our opinions are like grains of sand, shifting with the wind and the tide.

Like several people witnessing one incident . . . how many perspectives and stories come out of that?

How many perspectives are there on:

The war in Iraq?

The policies of any current administration?

The fist fight on the corner?

The car accident on Hall Street?

Life is kind of like crime scene investigation,

We scour the scene for bits of truth

We look for them in the obvious places

But we especially look for them in the most hidden places

We find bits of truth

Both in the obvious places

And in the most obscure, unexpected places

Wherever it turns up, we cherish it,

And begin assembling it into a bigger picture

Just remember, assembling the bigger picture is a life-long venture

If we think we have accomplished it . . . well . . . of course we have . . . as we fade into the oblivion of the proud . . . the dogmatic