Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

December 13– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“I will make your windows out of precious gems.”.'”

—Isaiah 54:12

The church is sometimes symbolized as a building erected by heavenly power and divine skill. Such a spiritual house must not be dark. The church should have windows to let the light in and help the inhabitants see all that is around them. These windows are precious like translucent gemstones. The Lord wants his people to see him in glorious light. He wants spiritual truth to be held in the highest esteem. Some precious gems are more transparent than others; and, in the same way, some aspects of God’s truth are seen clearly while others must be viewed through mistier windows.

Faith is one of these precious windows. Sadly, it is often so misty and clouded that we see only vaguely and even mistake much of what we do see. But even if we cannot see God as clearly as we are known by him, it is still a glorious thing to behold the altogether lovely One, even if it is through a hazy window.

Experience is another dim, but precious, window. It yields subdued light in which we see the sufferings of the Man of Sorrows through our own afflictions. Our weak eyes could not endure to see all of the Master’s glory through fully transparent glass; but when the glass is dimmed with weeping, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are tempered, and they shine through the misty windows of agate with a soft radiance, inexpressibly soothing to weary souls.

Another misty window of precious gems is the process of sanctification; that is, becoming more set apart unto God. The more we are conformed to the Lord Jesus, the more clearly we see God. Only as we become heavenly can we comprehend heavenly things. The pure in heart see a pure God. Those who are like Jesus see him as he is. We thank God for what we have, but we long to have more. When will see God and Jesus, Heaven and truth, face to face? [M&E]