Beyond Common Sense

 “For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.“ 1Ch 29:15

A fond memory I have as a child, is of making shadow images on the wall.  I was never very good at it, but it always amazed me how different my hands looked from the shadow they made.

One of my favorite shadows is of myself near dusk – I look tall and thin! 🙂 No matter the shadow, the reality is that a form must be there to make a shadow; if not…that would be VERY scary!!!  Actually, the definition for shadow says,  “an area of darkness, caused by light being blocked by something, which usually has a similar shape to the object that is blocking the light and which appears to be joined to it.”

The Bible says that our days on the earth are a shadow.  We usually quote the verse that says our life is a vapor: (Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Jas 4:14)  I suppose it’s the same idea, but there is a bit of a difference: a shadow needs something solid to make it appear.  What is that solid substance that makes your shadow, or life appear to the world?  Is it eternity?

Somehow we have this all backwards!  We are so focused on the shadow!  It would make sense, if we were “of the world” (John 15:19); but as  born-again believers, we are to walk by faith and not by sight!  It becomes all too obvious when we are walking by sight – we focus too hard on the shadow!  The cares of this life overshadow the reality of eternity.  We lose our burden for the lost.  We question the validity of a holy walk.  We start chasing the world’s pleasures instead of laying up treasures in heaven, and we get lost in the shadow!

Think with me for a moment – fast-forward your life.  It’s the year 2112.  If there is still a world, you are certainly not in it!  You are somewhere, or at least the spirit within you is somewhere.  Depending on God’s timetable, your body may still be “moldering in the grave,” like John Brown’s!  What do you see?  Is it a shadow?  NO!!! It is reality: heaven, the streets of gold, the angels and seraphim and cherubim.  Jesus is there with you!  You see Him, walk and talk with Him!  The splendor of this reality is beyond description.  No wonder Paul said, “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”  2 Cor. 12:4  There are no words this side of heaven to describe it, but don’t ever let that fool you into thinking that it is not read!  It is our confident expectation, our promise, our joy, our strength!  Without it, life isn’t even a shadow!

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