The purpose of the icon is not simply to decorate a room, or even to teach about the person or event portrayed. Rather, the purpose of the icon is to point past itself to God. Icons are sometimes called “windows into heaven.” A window is not meant to be seen, but rather seen through. An icon is meant to be looked through and beyond, all the way into heaven. When you look at an icon, you are invited to look through it into a greater reality, and that greater reality is always the goodness, holiness, and love of God himself.
