The Shadow

The analogy is not original with me. I remember hearing or reading it only recently. But I just thought of it as I walked outside and saw my shadow. When I stand in the sunlight, my shadow appears. Long or short, it follows me wherever I go in the sun. But when I step into the shade it disappears. Kind of reminiscent of the child’s nursery rhyme: "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me . . . .” The shadow of ourselves we see in the sun is analogous to the light of God’s Word. When we stand in its light, we can see the shadows of our sins. When we walk in darkness, when we keep the Bible’s pages closed, our shadow disappears. Jesus said: “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light . . . .” (John 3:19-21, NLT) Standing in the light can sometimes be awkward, especially when we see our sins. But without light, there can be no life. There can be no eternal life.