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RANDOM THOUGHTS ON WINDOWS
Jo Fullerton at the
Women’s Fellowship
Bible references are to
the Anglicised New International Version (NIV-UK) unless noted otherwise
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse . . . if you do, I
will open up the windows of heaven
for you and poor out a blessing so great you won’t have room
enough to take it in!
Malachi
6: 10 –
The Living Bible
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON WINDOWS? No, not the Microsoft
computer giant that seems to rule our lives these days. I’m thinking about glass windows, marvelling at such a brilliant invention and wondering
what life would be like without them. Sunlight is so valued that many
dwellings, offices and factories are built to allow the maximum natural
illumination. The conservatory extension to one’s house has become a most
desirable luxury.
Of the
thousands of uses for glass, the fitting of windows into human habitations must
be of the greatest benefit. What would we do without it? There is no positive
record as to when glass was first produced, as it dates back to prehistoric
times. A naturally occurring substance, glass is not really a human invention.
Certain kinds of rock, when melted in extreme heat, such as occurs in a
volcano, and then cooled and solidified quickly, create natural glass.
Modern technology
has so advanced the production of glass that we now see multi-storey buildings
apparently made entirely of it. This is something of an illusion: the basic
framework is steel, but the effect is that of a glass curtain wrapped around
the structure. Love them or loath them, such buildings are here to stay, mainly
in the interests of utilising solar energy.
You will
have seen pictures of the so-called ‘Gherkin Tower’ ― one glass building
that has captured the affection of many Londoners, and voted by international
architects in 2005 as the most admired new edifice. Gaps in each floor provide six shafts
that serve as a natural ventilation system. Air sandwiched between two layers
of glass creates a giant double glazing effect and insulates the office space.
At forty storeys, that’s a lot of windows!
Windows in the Bible
Noah’s Ark had a window that could
be opened and closed (Genesis 8: 6). Was it glazed? Some
authorities say that early windows may have been only an opening covered with
lattice-work. There is no firm evidence, but it seems feasible that even at
that early point in history the craft of glass making was practised. The
Israelite spies in Jericho were let down through the window of a house built
against the town wall, and many years later the Apostle Paul escaped from
Damascus in a similar way (Joshua 2: 15; 2 Corinthians 11: 33).
‘Windows of heaven’ is a poetic
reference to God’s dwelling place, from which His will is dispensed ― the
floodwaters in Noah’s day, or a bountiful blessing to Israel if they would keep
His commandments, as the prophet Malachi reminded them in our heading text. Of
a downpour we still say ‘the heavens opened’, and unexpected benefits are
called ‘pennies from heaven’. Challenging the patriarch Job, his companion asks
(Job 37: 18), ‘Can you join [God] in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror
of cast bronze?’
This
leads us to the subject of mirrors, or looking glasses as they were once
called. How many do you have in your house? I was surprised to count fourteen
in my modest dwelling, but they were probably a rarity in biblical times. Early
mirrors were made of copper, possibly also of bronze. They would not shatter
like glass, but would be subject to distortion, being malleable, and would
offer a less than perfect image. The Apostle Paul alluded to such imperfection
in his discourse on love: ‘Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;
then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,
even as I am fully known’ (1 Corinthians 13: 12).
Window Cleaning
Does
anyone here enjoy cleaning windows? One or two ― but mostly I see your
grimaces! Housework is definitely not my favourite pastime, and window cleaning
I loath, so it becomes a vexation when successive professional window cleaners
I hire to do the job for me disappear without trace. Who can blame them?
Insurance
companies regard the cleaning of windows as the riskiest profession in Britain.
Daredevil window wipers have been ranked ahead of lifeguards, ambulance drivers
and even circus performers in the dangerous jobs league table. A recent radio
documentary presented an interesting insight into the work, which does have its
appeal for those who enjoy the challenge of scaling skyscrapers. But sheer
boredom must be the daily challenge to the house-to-house worker. When it
emerged that many window cleaners are Jehovah’s Witnesses, I recalled that two
who had formerly done a good job for me but had eventually vanished, were of
that persuasion. When my present window cleaner next appeared and I mentioned
the programme and the two Jehovah’s Witnesses, he smilingly told me: ‘And now
you have a third!’ I was not surprised. All three are very pleasant, polite and
efficient.
Self-Cleaning Glass! I
pricked up my ears when I heard of that! Cleaning my windows on the inside is still a job I put off too
long. But the latest innovation will not be affordable, or even available
perhaps, for some time, so we shall have to carry on and enjoy the feeling of
virtue each time the job is done!
The Window of One’s Face
An
unidentified author wrote that ‘A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you’re at home.’ How
infectious a smile can be, and what a blessing it is to have a ready smile.
Some can grin from ear to ear, an endearing trait. And of course a real smile
shines through the eyes, as Luke observes:
‘Your
eyes light up your entire being. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul’ (Luke
11: 34 – The Living Bible).
The Scriptures contain interesting references to
laughter, but rather surprisingly there is no actual mention of smiling. But
then, how can we laugh without a smiling face? Jesus must surely have lit up
the fellowship with His disciples, and had the children laughing with delight
at His stories.
Some hymn writers have pictured a smiling God, for
example:
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
–
William Cowper, 1774
A smiling face! Picture our loving Heavenly Father looking
down through the windows of Heaven as He pours out a blessing for His faithful
children. While we are not under the Jewish Law that required the people to pay
their tithes ― a tenth of their income, into the Temple treasury ―
our love for the Lord and our commitment to His service prompts us to be
cheerful givers, not merely in financial matters, but in all of our little services and sacrifices for Him and His cause.
Do I want sunshine in my soul? Then I must keep my facial
windows bright and shining! It may not always be easy, but let’s all keep
smiling, trusting in the Lord’s providence, remembering that when we smile at
Him we shall receive a like response, His answer to the prayer of Numbers 6:
24-26:
The LORD
bless you and keep you; the LORD
make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace.
________________
Copyright
October 2010 ukbiblestudents.co.uk
You are free
to use any or all of this article, but please let us know if you do.
__________________
↑
Scriptures not
quoted in text:
Genesis 8: 6: ‘After forty
days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark.’
↑
Joshua 2: 15: ‘So she let
them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of
the city wall.’
↑
2 Corinthians
11: 15: ‘But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and
slipped through his hands.’
↑