The Icon

I am a faded
Icon that is cracked and in
Need of restoration.  I need
Repainted, touched-
Up and all my
Varnish stripped off and
Re-applied.

The face and body of me
Must testify to
Christ being fully
Vibrant and alive
So that when you
Gaze at me you see
Only him.

I am a window
That is barred and shuttered and
Made dim by all my
Blinds being down, hatches
Battened.  I have
Trapped the light within
So that nobody sees.

Oh help me to
Unbar myself and let my
Eyes be the windows
Of my soul that will
Absorb the light and
Beam it back
Out again, purified for all.

I am window and icon and
Both are the means for
Me to be Him, the one
Adored and emulated
Here in our time.  As icon
And window I must be
Image and discipleship

Radiant enough to
Refract his life, to paint it
And make it bright and be
Clear glass enough for all
To see through and into
Easily.  Why else be a
Christian if not for this.

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