Stained Glass

I remember someone telling me once that stained glass windows were meant to be seen from the inside of a church -- that their beauty was only targeted to the people inside the building, not those on the street.

Have you ever looked at stained glass windows from the outside of a building? Usually they are dull and not very attractive, sometimes even covered with protective plastic. I have a feeling that the person's assumption was correct.

It sounds almost un-Christian, that we would spend so much time and resources on something that is only instructive and enjoyable by those inside the walls.

What makes stained glass beautiful? There is potential in the colors of the glass and the design of how the pieces are assembled. They only demonstrate their true beauty, though, when the sun shines through them. It's the outside light that makes them beautiful. That might be something that we need to remember. We have potential for beauty and usefulness as we are, but it is only when the light of God shines through us that the potential is realized and the beauty is seen. It's not something we can do on our own; God must be involved.

The beauty of stained glass is how it is affected by the light.

Image: Chapel at Beverly Hills United Methodist Church