A light within

As long as I can remember, I’ve gazed at them.

And their beauty hasn’t faded after all of these years. They grace the walls of my church.

I grew up in a rural area outside of a small town and from birth until my marriage,  I attended and belonged to one church.  A simple, white clapboard country church. The same church where my parents were members as their parents before them.

Actually, my family history on my paternal grandmother’s side dates back to the very beginning of that church almost 200 years ago. Family ancestors were two of the eight founding members in 1820.

Once while researching the history of my church, I uncovered a copy of a 1941 church directory with all kinds of information included. What fascinating reading it made, seeing in print the positions members of my family – now long gone – held in that church, reading about all the activities going on, and seeing a membership roll that neared 500 souls.  

The history of my church is one of the things I love about it.  I also love my fellow believers there.  I love my pastor who encourages and, at the same time, challenges us each Sunday morning with messages straight from God’s Holy Word.  

I love that when I step inside that church building, I feel like I belong there.  

And there is one more thing I love about my church. Adorning each wall of the sanctuary are the most resplendent stained glass windows – a fancy thing for such a simple country church not made of stone or brick.

As long as I can remember, those windows have graced the church sanctuary. I’ve always loved the brilliantly colored glass depicting symbols of Christianity and renditions of the way the church building appeared in days gone by.

Sitting in a pew in my church on a Sunday morning, singing songs of praise to my God, hearing His Word as it speaks to my heart, I notice the sun shining through those windows and it brings even more joy to my soul.

It’s like God’s love is pouring down from heaven through those sunbeams lighting up the sparkling panes of colored glass.

From the outside of my church, those stained glass windows don’t appear to be that spectacular. But inside is a different story. Inside, when light radiates through them, those windows become incandescent and brilliant.   

Although it is God’s House, the actual building that houses my church with these magnificent windows is just that – it’s just a building.

What makes a church a true place to worship the Lord isn’t the building, it’s what is practiced, preached, and believed inside and outside of that building.

The church is not a private club. The church is truly believers, people like you and me, the hands and feet of Jesus.  Believers who go outside the church to share the gospel message, to give help and aid to those who are needy, to reach out to those who are hurting, to show others in words and deeds what it means to be saved by the loving grace of Jesus Christ.

All of this reminds me that on the outside, things may look glum, even dreary, much like how the outer stained glass windows appear on my church building. But when the light of belief in a Savior shines through, perspective changes amazingly.

I hope when folks view my outer countenance, they may see a radiant stained glass window revealed by the light within me which only comes from my Savior.

And I must take that light and shine it outside the walls of my church building.

“People are like stained – glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

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