This Deep But Dazzling Darkness

         There is in God, some say,
A deep but dazzling darkness, as men here
Say it is late and dusky, because they
              See not all clear.
      O for that night!  When I in Him
      Might live invisible and dim!
                      -from The Night, by Henry Vaughan


I have loved these words from Henry Vaughan's poem for more than half my life.  It was Madeleine L'Engle who introduced me to them when I was maybe 12, in her book A Ring of Endless Light.

There is something so beautiful and incomprehensible and mysterious about God.  I love the way the Voice paraphrase of Scripture puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal.  I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture.  But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face.  In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God."

"When Jesus arrives."

O Lord Jesus, come soon...  This deep but dazzling darkness is wonderful - but oh, how we long to see Your face.