Sneaky Stained Glass

Read: Proverbs 3:5-8; John 1:9-14

As Peter, Calvin, and Esther waited for their dad after church, they looked out at the parking lot through the stained glass windows near the back of the sanctuary. “I see our car,” said Calvin. “It’s green.”

Esther disagreed. “No, it’s not. It’s yellow.”

“You’re both wrong,” said Peter. “It’s blue.”

Just then, Dad walked up. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’re talking about the color of our car,” said Peter. “It’s blue, right?”

“No, green!” said Calvin.

Esther giggled. “No, yellow!”

Dad laughed and looked out another windowpane. “Looks purple to me.”

As they went out and got into their white car, Dad said, “Okay, kids, let’s think about something. Why did each of us see our car as a different color even though it was white all along?”

“Because we were each looking through a different color glass,” answered Calvin.

Dad nodded. “Right. Each of us had a different view of the car, but we were all wrong. And each person has their own worldview, or how they see life and determine what’s true. The thing is, we can’t see anything the right way without God. Anyone looking at the world without the truth of His Word, the Bible, sees it as though they’re looking through sneaky stained-glass windows that don’t show things as they truly are.”

“Is that why some of the things people say are true sound like they could be right, even though they don’t match what God says in the Bible?” asked Esther. “Because they’re trying to see the truth, but the way they’re looking at it—their worldview—is wrong?”

“Yes,” Dad said as he turned onto their street. “All people are sinners, so our judgments about what is right and wrong are often pretty skewed—like we’re looking through a window that makes everything a different color. But God is outside the window, and He sees things exactly as they are. That’s why the only way we can know what’s true is by trusting in Jesus, who came to save us from sin and open our eyes to God’s truth. Only by putting our faith in Him and using His Word as our window can we have the right view—God’s view—of what’s true.”

–Faith Alessio

How about you? Do you ever wonder what’s really true? It can be confusing because every person views the world differently. God is the only one who sees everything clearly, and He tells us what’s true in the Bible. He also sent us His Son, Jesus, who came to show us the truth of who God is and how much we need Him to save us. When you trust in Jesus and look at everything through the window of His Word, He will show you what is true.

Today's Key Verse: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus shows us what’s true