One night I read the book of Romans, and prayed for understanding. Not long after I prayed this, these thoughts came to me. It was like an epiphany. I was totally inspired, and stayed up much of the night, not being able to sleep as I wrote down this story. --Michele

We Are Glass

By Michele Sloop

It was time for the child to go to sleep, but before this he asked his father to tell him a story. "Of course, son," said the father. "What would you like to hear?" He already knew what his son would ask for, but he wanted his answer. The child said, "Daddy, please tell me that wonderful story of love. Please tell it to me again." The father said, "What ever you ask I will give." So the father proceeded to tell his son this most wonderful story.

"You see son, once there was a Daddy who loved his son so much that he wanted to give him a special gift, a beautiful masterpiece. The son knew about this gift. The son knew that his father could create many beautiful masterpieces. But this one was very special; this one took a whole week of non-stop creativity and work. The father was pleased with his work on his masterpiece, and after all this work he took a day to rest. The very next day the father gave the son his gift.

"Daddy," said the son inquisitively said to his father, "What was this special gift? Explain it to me again!"

"Well son, this gift was a picture, but not any ordinary kind. You see, this picture was made out of glass—a very special glass that the father made it himself. It was stained glass, of the most extraordinary kind, with the
most magnificent sparkle in the light. The picture in the stained glass took away the breath of both the father and son as they gazed upon it together. It was beautiful.

"Daddy," the son said, "What did the son think about this gift?"

"Well, the son loved this special gift with all his heart and he treasured it. However, his father gave it to him with some very strange instructions. The son knew that once he was given this beautiful picture, he was to throw it to the ground, and let it shatter into thousands of pieces. The obedient son was happy to do this.

"Then the father told the son he must pick up each piece of glass that the father finds, every last one. The father told his son that this was going to hurt him badly. He warned him that as he picked up the pieces of glass, his hands would bleed. Each piece would make him bleed. His hands would bleed as well as his feet, as he stepped on glass shards while looking for others to pick up. This seemed a sad thing to do with the father's beautiful stained glass picture. But the father told the son that this picture--his masterpiece--which was now the son's—would be more beautiful the second time, once the son was able to put it back together. The father told the son that he must do this. He had no doubt that his son would obey because he knew that he loved him and trusted that his reward would be great when the final beauty of the masterpiece would be seen.

"The son agreed with his father and told him he would pick up every last piece no matter how much pain it caused, or how difficult it was to find. The son knew that some pieces would be very sharp indeed, and cause much blood to flow. Nevertheless, he did as his father asked. As he began to gather the glass shards and assemble them, the picture began to take a form that was much more beautiful than before, for this time the glass was stained with the son's blood. All the glass pieces were in their place, stuck together by the blood, and not one piece was missing.

"The full beauty of the picture in the glass was now shown. The picture was a portrait of the son and it was more glorious and spectacular this time when the light was shown through it. You see--the son looked just like his father and it pleased both of them to see their likeness in the portrait. This gift would be kept by the son for as long as he lived because he loved his father and the gift his father gave him."

""Tell me more, tell me more," the child pleaded. He wanted the story explained to him. "OK!" said his daddy. "Remember son, this story, I've told you it before, and my father used to tell it to me when I was your age. Every time I tell it to you I learn something new."

"Well, the father represents God the Father and his son represents Jesus Christ. The stained glass portrait represents the creation of life. The special glass was mankind, and it bore the image of the son stained in the glass. You see, glass is a strange and wonderful thing. It is formed in nature the combination of hot fire and sand. We humans are made from the dust or sand of the earth and He gives us His Spirit with fire. Once glass is formed, it is clear and light can be shown through it perfectly. The throwing down of this creation represents God allowing man to sin. The breaking up of the glass represents the wages of sin, which is Death. Each broken piece represents each person's life lived on this earth. Each person is like a tiny glass puzzle piece that must be found and repaired by adding it to the picture of life. No piece of glass is quite the same; they all have their own unique shape, color and size. Some pieces are sharper than others, and some larger representing the type of life the person lived. As Jesus picks up our broken dead lives, it causes him to bleed, which represents his death on the cross. You see this sin caused Jesus to have to die. For, His image is what was on the picture, and it had to be broken to accomplish the Father's will.

"Remember--the father told his son that every last piece must be found. They (Father and Son) would not be satisfied with just a small portion being found and repaired. No—they were determined to have all of it, every last piece! And so, He came to seek and save the lost.

"When the glass is shattered into tiny fragments, there are always pieces that glisten in the light. These ones, the Son finds easily, and adds them back to the portrait of life. Some shards of glass take the light of Jesus and reflect it onto other pieces; which helps Jesus to find them. But there are always those pieces which are harder to find, and require much searching. God finds these pieces for Jesus, and shows Him where and how He can shine His light on them, so that they too will glisten. Then, Jesus will pick them up and add them to the rest. These shards represent those lives which had fallen into much darkness.

"Once the picture is complete and restored back to that which God had originally intended it to be, the light of the Son (Jesus) can now shine through this portrait of Himself. It now bears his whole image which is the same as His Father's. The glass portrait is beautiful because all of the love and sacrifice that went into it, causing it to sparkle even more than it did before. For God's endings are always better than His beginnings. The gift of life He gave will truly be with all His children forever."

"Daddy, I love this story!" exclaimed the child. Then he yawned and said, "I love Jesus and I will tell this story to my son when I am all grown up like you." The daddy kissed his son, and as he turned off the light he softly whispered "I love you too, son." Then he paused and remembered the scripture which says,

"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For God committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."