Opening the Window Blinds to Let in More Light

There's a line in a prayer by St. Augustine that goes something like this: "The house of my soul is small; do Thou enter in and enlarge it." Since reading that a few years ago, I've prayed it many times over in my desire to have an enlarged heart. I believe the Lord heard and continues to hear that prayer, and He is answering it.

This week as I was thinking once again of this prayer, a picture came to mind from which has emerged a new prayer of my heart: "The house of my soul has many windows; would You enter in and uncover them that I may see You more fully." The picture I saw was a house with windows on all sides but the blinds were covering the windows on some sides of the house; for most of my life, I've looked through the windows of one side where the blinds had been opened through the help of family and friends. I've looked at God and His kingdom through this set of windows because it was the view I inherited from American conservative evangelicalism.

I'm grateful for that view and value much that I received from it, but I believe that in answer to the simple prayer for Him to enlarge the house of my soul, the Lord has begun opening the window blinds  of other sides of my soul's house so that more light concerning Him is being cast on my view of Him. The lighting is different in the house when there is light coming in from all sides; it's the same light but with added dimensions and colors.

I don't claim that all of the windows of my soul's house are uncovered yet, but enough different ones have been uncovered to motivate me to keep at it. I don't fear the entrance of Light from other views now, but rather I welcome Him who is the Light to enter in greater brightness through all of the windows. (I John 1:5 "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.")

Because of this, I will at times share the writings and thoughts of followers of Jesus who come from other streams of the Christian faith. I may not swallow everything whole that they say but I can receive light about Jesus from them that I don't get from the view I inherited. After all, I don't expect others to swallow everything whole that I say, and yet, hopefully, they can receive light about Jesus from me that they may not receive through their window.

Lord, the house of my soul has many windows; would You enter in and uncover them that I may see You more fully...