Lit from Within

The stained glass windows of the little church attracted my attention. Although I’d driven through the village many times before, I’d never done so at night, and so had never seen the building lit up from within as it was by the church service going on inside. Truly the windows sparkled like jewels on the darkened street and beautified the whole town as a result.

My perspective of stained glass windows has always been from inside a church building. I’ve often marveled at their splendor as sunlight has streamed in through them on a gorgeous day. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen how beautiful they are at night, when lit by the lights inside the building.

We Christians are likewise the stained glass windows of society, beautifying the world around us when we allow the light of God inside of us to light our countenance and enhance our surroundings, everywhere we go.

During the daylight hours, the windows of the little church look like those on any of the other buildings in the town. But in the nighttime hours they glow with a beauty beyond anything the others have to offer. And likewise it is in the dark hours of our troubled times that the light of God within us causes us to stand out, shining forth through us in incomparable beauty to a watching world.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

(Matthew 5:16 KJV)

God and I play a game on cloudy days.

Sunbeams have always been a method of communication between the two of us, a visible picture of God's love, flowing down from Heaven into my life. Every time I see a sunbeam, I hear a loud "I love you" from God.

And so on overcast days, I look to the sky and see if I can flash the sign language symbol for those three little words out the window and voice the verbal version of the same before I see sunlight streaming through a break in the cloud cover. And then I look to see what He has to say in reply.

I beat Him today! As I pulled onto the highway, an interesting formation in the clouds reminded me that this would be a perfect day for our game. So I quickly expressed my love in the methods described above, beating Him to the punch. And then I watched for His response.

Funny, it didn't come in the clouds this morning. I got to church, parked the car and hurried into the building for worship practice. Truth be told, I forgot that I was even looking for a specific message from God.

But He didn't forget. An hour later I was standing on the front steps of the church, drinking a cup of coffee and welcoming visitors and regular attendees alike. And suddenly I saw it. Right in front of the building, a car stopped at the stop sign on the corner. And there, written on the front passenger window were the three little words, "I love you."

I couldn't believe it! My mouth dropped open and my heart stopped beating for a second or two, I was so surprised! And then I laughed at how bewildered the owner of the vehicle must've been, wondering what on earth he was doing driving down that particular road at 10:20 on a Sunday morning, unwittingly delivering a love letter from God to a believer on the front steps of that church!

You know, I never really beat God at our game. Oh, He lets me have momentary victories like today. But He told me He loved me some 2000 years ago when He sent His Son to die for me. I'll simply never catch up in the love department, and that's okay. While I'm normally a pretty competitive person, this is one game I'm grateful to lose!

"We love Him because He first loved us."
(1 John 4:19)