The Windows of a Chateau

For some reason, I am fascinated by light. As I walked through a chateau in Switzerland this weekend, I was drawn immediately to the windows that were present on the outer and inner walls. The windows captured different views of the majestic Swiss Alps that immediately grabbed my view. “Wow…that is amazing,” was the common phrase I uttered as I walked through the castle and took in the beauty of God’s creation outside and the ingenuity of men inside the castle. For some reason though, I kept getting drawn to the windows. There is something about light gleaming into a dark room, especially a dark, damp banquet hall of an old, stone fortress. What is it that repeatedly drew me to the light?

The light shone differently depending on the window it was coming in through. Some of the windows were stained with greens and pinks and the light had a certain hue to it. Other windows were foggy and the light had a blurred effect. And yet other openings had no windowpane at all; the light just streamed in uninterrupted by any human creation. The one thing that all of the windows shared in common was the light that they brought into the room. Without those openings, the room would have been without light and there would have been no way for me to see the wonders that the castle held.

Later that night, I was flipping through my Bible and I just happened upon the following verse. Ephesians 5: 8-13 says

For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

Coincidence…I think not. God spoke to me through Scripture as He reminded me that light reveals truth. If I had been in that castle in complete darkness, my mind very well could have created an image of what it looked like but it would have been very far from accurate. The light beaming in from the windows allowed me to see the accurate depiction of the fortress. In the same way, the light of God reveals truth. We are called to bring light to this darkened world. The light may be revealed in different forms but it always remains light. 

I have to ask myself what kind of light am I? Am I blurred by the things of this world? Do I have bars in the way that block out some of my light? Or am I an uninhibited light for God with nothing blocking the majesty of Jesus Christ. I pray that I become the kind of light that dances across the walls and shines brightly without any of the dimming effects of this world.