Shadows and Reflections
When I was growing up, the boys in our neighborhood used to try and catch each other’s shadows. We weren’t too successful. When you move, even just slightly, the shadow that is reflected onto the ground changes both in length and size. And if you stand completely still, your shadow will still constantly change as the sun’s position moves across the sky. The further away that the object creating the shadow is from the surface of projection, the larger the shadow. The length of a shadow is proportionate to the light source’s elevation angle.
Shadows and reflections are the opposite of one other – shadows are formed on a surface when an object blocks a light source whereas reflections are created when light bounces off a surface. Shadows are usually black in color and rarely beautiful, while reflections have rich color and are often vibrant. Think of your body’s dark shadow projected upon the ground in contrast to the beautiful reflection of trees cast upon a still pond’s glassy surface.
No two shadows or reflections will ever stay the same; they are forever changing. Life is the same way; it is ever-changing, even if you stand still. In contrast to never-ending change in us and around us, we have a God who never changes. The theological word for this is immutable, which is defined as unchanging over time or unable to be changed. God Himself tells us that He does not change. In Malachi 3:6 we read, “I the LORD do not change.” We find these words in Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
And in James 1:17 we are told, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
There is another image of shadows that brings great comfort; that being God’s protection – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’” (Psalm 91:1-2).
Those who call Jesus Lord and Savior, thus turning their faces toward God, have a spiritual blind spot removed. A blind spot created by sin. A blind spot that keeps separated from God. The apostle Paul describes this separation, this lack of understanding, as a veil over our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:12-15), but then he offers us good news – “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed” (3:16).
Furthermore, Paul goes on to offer this promise – “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (3:17-18).
Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, and the wisest man to ever live (1 Kings 3:1-15; 4:29-34) wrote this in Proverbs 27:19 – “As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the person.”
So, while you cannot avoid change, you can cling to and rest in the constant shadow of the ever-faithful, never-changing God; the same God who created you in His image, who loves you, and who wants nothing more than to be your rock and your protection as life shifts all around you. And the more we cling to God, the more He changes us, the more we begin to look like Him, and the more we reflect His perfect and beautiful image to the world around us!
God invites you, and he invites me, to draw near(er) to Him. . Whether for the first time, or as a recommittal, will you move toward God right now?
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