Light is the essence of being alive. It gives us warmth, allows us to grow food, and shines beauty into our lives.
Jack Storms does even more with it. He creates fire within blocks of glass, and it mesmerizes us.
Storms is a cold glass artist who creates optical glass sculptures that must be seen to be believed. He combines various types of leaded glass, which breaks up the light into fabulous colors, with optical glass, which is perfectly clear. Then he cuts, polishes, and glues his product together. That’s only the first step, however. He turns his creation a different direction and does it over and over. Eventually, he encases his leaded glass constructions in a solid sheet of clear glass.
He does it all without heating or melting the glass. He simply reshapes it over and over with a grinding stone.
One facet of his amazing work is that the brighter the light we shine on the final result, the more beautiful it becomes. Hide it in the dark, and it’s no more than a doorstop to trip over in the night.
Light brings Jack Storms’ sculptures alive.
The book of John tells the story of Christ the glass artist, and of how he cuts, polishes, and glues us into something magnificent, until we are beautiful when he shines the light of his love on us.
John 1:3 names Jesus as the master of his art:
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 3:16 tells us of the first cut with the grinding wheel:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 5:20 reveals the layers of love that will make up his final masterpiece:
“For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.”
John 5:31 makes it clear that others’ opinions count:
“If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.”
John 10:30 illustrates the strength of the gluing process.
“I and the Father are one.”
John 17:1 says he’s ready to display his creation before the world:
“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.’ ”
John 17:11 lays out the beauty found in the Church, revealing that we are a family, bound together in Christ, one, and exceedingly wonderful to behold:
“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”
How will the world know that we are perfectly formed by Christ’s magnificent hand? It will become obvious when we are caught in the light, and we reflect the beauty of Christ back unto the world.
When Christ is in us, the world will see and be amazed.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.H.19.15.vp.esv