The largest stained glass window in the world can be found in Leawood, Kansas at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. It is 37 feet high and 93 feet wide! And it tells a story…..our story. Stained glass windows took hold back in the Middle Ages not simply for beauty, but also for education. With only a small portion of the population literate, a ‘picture could be worth a thousand words’. One look at this massive piece of art tells the story of life between “The 3 Trees”:
1] Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: Love is impossible without choice. Humanity is given the freedom to love and trust God through willful obedience or to refuse.
“….but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:17
2] The Cross: In the Cross we see the Son of God hung on a tree on our behalf that we might be reconciled back into relationship with God.
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
Acts 5:30-31
3] The Tree of Life: For the believer in Christ, the ultimate promise of wiping every tear from our eye and removing sin and death while giving life eternal awaits.
“….on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”
Revelation 22:2-3
This is our story……..living between the Trees.