1 Corinthians 13: 8-13
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 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. 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. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
God’s history is a step by step process
God’s history has always been broken down into different stages. Consider it as a soccer game with a first half and a second half, and yet both halves are part of the same game. Likewise, God’s history also has a first half and a second half. These two halves are part of the same segment—the same history—but at different levels.
The old history and new history are one in terms of God’s history, but the time period evolves over time. During the first half of God’s history, the foundation was made physically by people believing and following God’s Word, and in the second half, the foundation is made spiritually through the teachings of the Lord. The first half is the time to learn where as the second half is the time to diligently carry out God’s work.
As you spiritually adorn yourself in various ways as God’s counterpart of love, when the time comes, you come to realize more completely what you had known only partially during the first half. You must come to the stage of fully knowing and fulfilling the history of God. You are considered to have lived the entire segment of history once you arrive at the completed history and receive full knowledge.
In order to reach an ideal place, the first step is to leave the former things behind. You must first escape from the former things, and then you must walk towards the destination. The last step is to arrive at the destination and live your life to the fullest there while fulfilling your purpose. It’s similar to how the Israelites escaped from Egypt, travelled through the desert of Zin, and then arrived in Canaan and lived there. Additionally, between each of these stages, there is a transition phase.
What is a transition period?
A transition phase is the most difficult stage of all. It is the turning point or a time of change. Most people are worried or anxious during transition stages. When a person graduates from high school and continues on to university, that is a type of transition where most students are anxious or worried, as they don’t know what their futures hold. People who have come to the New Testament history from the Old Testament times also had a very difficult time upon hearing the Lord’s new Word for the time period. Those who transition to the new times always struggle at first.
It is always difficult to go from something you are familiar with to something new. For example, having not exercised in a long time, you run around playing soccer, wanting to increase your lung capacity. This can only be done slowly and is like a transition phase. Every time you think to yourself, “Should I go or not go?” it is like a transition period.
Right now, we need to find our own rhythm and transition into this time of knowing completely and living as God’s counterpart of love. In order to do that, you must be united with the Lord in your thoughts and actions every day.
Depending on where you are positioned and depending on your actions before God, what God reveals to you is different. You should learn to observe and see things clearly from the position of God’s bride. You must prepare your future in the domain of faith. Everything you do, whether it be school or work, must be done together with the Lord in thoughts and actions within the domain of God. So, do the things that you couldn’t do in the past. Even though it is difficult, transition to the new times through the Word and live your daily life united with the Lord.
