Shifting Shadows
Posted in Brandon's Posts, Following God, Football, God, shadows 0 comments
Two Friday nights ago my family and I were leaving the high school football game. It was passed the point in the day when I function well around people....8pm.
As we walked through the parking lot I saw I had a shadow. Then I saw I had another...and another. As I mentioned before, it was late and my brain wasn't functioning so I wondered how that happened. Then I realized there were several light sources, all helping me to cast a shadow.
I've been thinking about that for these two weeks and thinking about shadows. Our stories are full of shadows. Peter Pan loses his shadow (or in the case of the show Once Upon a Time, sends it to do his bidding). In Doctor Who, the Vashta Nerada lurk in the shadows and you know they have targeted you when you have more than one shadow. Now that Halloween is right around the corner, shadows and dark places are held in high regard. People like to hide in the shadows to jump out and scare others.
The Bible contrasts God to a shadow. In James 1:17 we read, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow." You see, shadows change. As the sun moves across the sky, shadows shrink and grow. They can distort. We can make shadow puppets on the wall by changing the way we cast a shadow.
God is not like that. He is the same as He has always been and He will not change. The same God who sent Jesus to take each of our places, still loves us. The same God who sent the Holy Spirit to guide us is still that same God.
He still looks after us. He still loves us. He still wants us to follow Him. Nothing has changed. That's a very reassuring thought in a world where nothing is constant. God is, and we can rely on Him.
The other thought I've been throwing around in my head is we are to be like God. So we should not be shadows. God has called us to live a life following after Him. This is true life, when we leave the darkness and come into the light.
My shadow isn't me. It can sometimes look like me, but it's not me. I need to make sure that I'm living the life God has called me to live, and that I'm not living a shadow of the life He desires. Real is always better than a shadow.
God has called us each to live an awesome life for Him. He has a plan for all of us and we can accomplish a lot. Why would we cast away the real, the awesome, or the light, for nothing but an imitation.
Live the life God has called you to live. It's awesome and you don't want to pass up the opportunity.
As we walked through the parking lot I saw I had a shadow. Then I saw I had another...and another. As I mentioned before, it was late and my brain wasn't functioning so I wondered how that happened. Then I realized there were several light sources, all helping me to cast a shadow.
I've been thinking about that for these two weeks and thinking about shadows. Our stories are full of shadows. Peter Pan loses his shadow (or in the case of the show Once Upon a Time, sends it to do his bidding). In Doctor Who, the Vashta Nerada lurk in the shadows and you know they have targeted you when you have more than one shadow. Now that Halloween is right around the corner, shadows and dark places are held in high regard. People like to hide in the shadows to jump out and scare others.
The Bible contrasts God to a shadow. In James 1:17 we read, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow." You see, shadows change. As the sun moves across the sky, shadows shrink and grow. They can distort. We can make shadow puppets on the wall by changing the way we cast a shadow.
God is not like that. He is the same as He has always been and He will not change. The same God who sent Jesus to take each of our places, still loves us. The same God who sent the Holy Spirit to guide us is still that same God.
He still looks after us. He still loves us. He still wants us to follow Him. Nothing has changed. That's a very reassuring thought in a world where nothing is constant. God is, and we can rely on Him.
The other thought I've been throwing around in my head is we are to be like God. So we should not be shadows. God has called us to live a life following after Him. This is true life, when we leave the darkness and come into the light.
My shadow isn't me. It can sometimes look like me, but it's not me. I need to make sure that I'm living the life God has called me to live, and that I'm not living a shadow of the life He desires. Real is always better than a shadow.
God has called us each to live an awesome life for Him. He has a plan for all of us and we can accomplish a lot. Why would we cast away the real, the awesome, or the light, for nothing but an imitation.
Live the life God has called you to live. It's awesome and you don't want to pass up the opportunity.
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