Looking Into The Window

Looking into the Window

By Pastor James May

There it stood, in the side of the wall; it was just a window. But there was something different about this window that was different from most. Those on the inside could look through it to see the outside world, and those on the outside could look in to see what was happening on the inside. This was a window into the ways of the world for those who dwelt on the inside, and it was a window into the glories of Heaven for those who looked in from the world.

It was just a small opening, a crack if you will, in the walls of time and eternity, where there was bright light that shone forth in a dark world. It wasn’t a hard window to find, if you were looking. The problem was that most people walking in the darkness would never see the window because they went about their daily lives with their eyes either blinded by the darkness or with their eyes closed so that they could not see the light from the window.

As I watched, there came one to that window, for it was a window that was always open, and had a welcome sign attached over it for anyone, at anytime, who desired to look inside to come and see. This one who came seemed to be drawn to the light by an unseen hand. As he drew ever nearer to the brightness of the light, he became more and more aware of the fact that he was dressed in rags and must have been a sight to behold.

Oh, he had always prided himself with the manner in which he had lived his life. He had always tried to be clean, tried to be presentable and tried to do the best he knew how. But now, as the light became ever brighter, he realized just how dirty and unkept his clothing and appearance must be.

Yet he was drawn closer and closer and it seemed that he could not stop moving toward that light for there was a power that engulfed him, and gently, but persuasively continued to prod him onward toward that window.

The brighter the light from that window shone upon him, the more he could see all of the failures in his life that appeared before him as he drew ever nearer. It was as though the light from that window was a projector that continually played everything in his life that he would be ashamed for the world to know.

There was the improper speech, the bad attitude, the times he kicked the dogs or slammed the doors in anger. There were the times that he had ignored the light of that window in the past, and there were even a few times when he saw, played again in his memory, the times before that he had been drawn to the light of the window, but each time he would get close enough to begin to see what was inside, he would suddenly close his eyes again, turn around and walk back into the darkness.

From the beyond the window the voices would ring out and reach his ears, “Come On son, Come On and look inside. Come On, it will be worth it all! Give up the darkness and step into the Light. It is such a grand place to be.” But the voices that called to him seemed so distant, like those of a long-lost friend, or perhaps an ancestor from generations already passed from the scene. At times the voices would be strong, and their words were piercing and persuasive. At other times, when he walked farther from the window, the voices were distant and weak and they seemed to make little difference at all.

The years would pass, time marched on and eternity drew ever nearer. Then one day, that man finally decided to get as close as he could to the window. Curiosity, and the power that drew him, seemed so strong on this day. Perhaps this was the day that he would finally see inside. Perhaps this was the day when he would get the satisfaction of looking into the house and getting a clear view of what lay inside.

Somewhere, down deep within, there had always been a longing to be in the house and to be a part of the crowd that was in the light, but there was always an invisible wall that was in the way. He could not figure a way to get past that barrier that stood between the world of darkness where he lived, and the world inside that window. It was invisible to the eye but that wall must have been made of transparent steel for try as he might, he could never break through to the other side.