Sunday School Object Lesson: Seeing God Clearly – One day face to face
Scripture:
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV): "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."
Object: 
Welding glasses or eclipse glasses (You might have some left over from watching the recent eclipse.) Remind the kids that it is dangerous to look at the sun without special glasses.
Lesson idea:
Show the children your dark glasses. These glasses are used to protect our eyes from really bright light, making it hard to see clearly when we wear them. This can illustrate how our understanding of God is limited while we are here on Earth, but one day, we will see Him clearly.
Other items Needed:
- Welding glasses or glasses used to watch an eclipse
- A bright light source (like a flashlight or lamp)
- A clear glass or mirror
- Introduction:
- Show the kids the welding glasses or eclipse glasses.
- Explain that these glasses are used to protect our eyes from very bright light, such as when welding or watching a solar eclipse (as recently happened)
- Demonstration:
- Have a child put on the glasses and describe what they see. They won’t be able to see much.
- Shine the bright light source while they wear the glasses and ask them to describe how clear or unclear things look. Let some other kids try if you have time. Have some fun.
- Discussion:
- Explain that wearing these glasses makes it hard to see things clearly.
- Relate this to the scripture: "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face."
- Discuss how, just like the glasses make things look dark and unclear, our understanding of God is not complete in this world. We can't see or understand everything about God right now.
- Scripture Connection:
- Read 1 Corinthians 13:12 together or read out your own paraphrase version.
- Explain that the Bible tells us that our knowledge of God is like looking through dark glasses. We can see something, but it's not very clear.
- But one day, in heaven, we will see God clearly, face to face, and understand Him fully.
- Illustration with Clear Glass:
- Show the clear glass or mirror to the children.
- Explain that just as the clear glass allows us to see things clearly, one day we will see God clearly without any barriers or limitations.
- Conclusion:
- Encourage the kids that while we may not understand everything now, we can trust that God has a perfect plan and one day we will know Him completely. You could emphasise that now we do have his Word – the Bible.
- Emphasize the importance of faith and trust in God, even when things are not clear.
- Prayer:
“Dear God, we know that there is so much we don’t understand about you. We also wish we could see you clearly. Even though now it’s like we are looking though a dark glass, we are so thankful that one day we will see you face to face. Thank you for the wonderful and certain hope – in Jesus’ name – Amen!
