Casting the right shadow

Abraham Lincoln said, "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." We all have a reputation - that shadow of our character - some of us better in some ways than another, but we all have our "bad stuff" we'd rather nobody ever associated with us! A reputation is the "estimation" we have of someone simply by what we observe, or don't observe, in their performance / behavior. It is only an "estimation" as scripture clearly reminds us we cannot really know a man's heart - only God can truly see "into" a man's heart. We see the shadow - God sees the roots.

Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people. (Proverbs 3:3-4)

We "earn" a reputation - growing like a shadow we can see it is not given to us! We gain it by the various ways we behave. We are reminded today of the need to "earn" a reputation for living well in God's eyes - and in turn, the eyes of the people around us. Shadows are 'cast' - they aren't just there. I never really thought about "earning" my reputation in God's eyes before - maybe because I was so focused on the reputation I was earning in the eyes of others. I kind of relied on my reputation being what God saw when he looked at me through the eyes of Jesus! Yet, I know there is the whole other side to my reputation God wants to focus on - that which is founded in good character.

This is not an invalid perception - God DOES see me as he sees Jesus. He sees me through the sacrifice of Christ as a new creation, redeemed, made whole and holy. Yet, he looks for evidence of a life-change - the very stuff which makes up a reputation! In other words, God wants to see my actions reflect his grace, my attitude reflect his love, and my commitment reflect his tremendous loyalty toward me! I cannot think of any particular "thing" we can do which lends to what God has done in our lives by his grace - but I can think of a whole lot of ways we can "reflect" this grace to a hurting world around us! When others look at our response to trial, do they see our commitment to remain steadfast in our faith, or a wavering and inconsistent wishy-washy faith? When they see our response to unkind words, do they see a reflection of God's love by our "release" of our offender, or our own desire to "get even" with the one who has offended us?

Look at how God asks us to gain a reputation - by never losing our grip on love and loyalty. As we consider this important point, we cannot discount the next portion of the passage as the "how-to" which lends to the means of never losing our grip. He says it is in how well we allow God's love to "engrave" our hearts and how close we keep him in our day's activities. Something which is bound around our neck is always close at hand. I wear a small silver chain with a little dove on it around my neck. This was a gift from my daughter, but it really reminds me of the fact I am never without the Spirit of God in my life - close to my heart, guiding my actions, influencing my choices. Now, it serves as a reminder to my mom when she is confused as to who I am that I am the "real" daughter she is seeking. She thinks there are many who claim to be me at times, but when she feels that evidence, she is put at ease.

You don't have to wear a necklace to "bind love and loyalty" around your neck, or give evidence of who you are in Christ Jesus. It is a symbol of the closeness we need to maintain to God's Word, his Spirit, and the protection both provide in our daily walk. Why the neck? In connects the heart to the mind. Neither is able to stand alone. Cut the brain off from the supply of oxygen and blood from the heart and lungs and it isn't able to function as it should. Cut the brain off and the heart and lungs are useless organs no longer able to sustain life. So, God's Word and his Spirit "tie together" the mind and the heart - so each functions well, responds consistently, and can be relied upon to not misdirect the rest of our body! Maybe it is time to "overhaul" our reputation a little. We begin by "binding" the right stuff in the very middle of what gives us the greatest trouble with our reputation - our heart and our mind! The shadow cast when we do is mighty! Just sayin!

No shadow here

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow."  (Helen Keller)  These are pretty profound words from a non-sighted individual!  When our face is fully and completely turned into the "son-light", we don't see the shadows creeping along behind us, or crawling up alongside! Indeed, the shadows are not even in our view because the "son-shine" is so brilliant we don't have time or need to even consider the shadows in life!

God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:  when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes, when you avoid sin’s highway, when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.   For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness.  It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.

You are like a tree, planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry. Your fruit ripens in its time; your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.  No matter what you do, you prosper.  (Psalm 1:1-3 VOICE)

When God's Word is our focus, it is almost impossible to see the shadows, too!  The light coming into our lives when we delve into the Word of God, compounded by the "illuminating force" of the Holy Spirit within - no shadow dare attempt to overcome us!  Instead of shadows following in our path - God's blessing follow us!  Those blessings don't cast a shadow - they fill us with joy unexplained or not understood by some - even in the midst of what others may think of as pretty "dark times" in our lives!

Shadows have a way of creeping up on us, kind of unnoticed until they are bigger than life.  This is one of the most important things to remember about things that try to overshadow our lives - they are "bigger than life" only because they are being cast by a "bigger than life" light in front of us!  Without light, there are no shadows.  In the absence of light, only darkness exists.  Light allows the shadows to be seen, but they don't have to be feared because the light is our focus!  We should be more concerned with the absence of light - not the shadows which result from the light!

Shadows only exist because there is some object in between them and the direction of the light.  If we are to continually move away from the shadow, then we have to be moving toward the light.  Nothing is more concerning than to see the shadows grow bigger.  Are shadows larger when we are nearer the light, or when we are further from it?  The closer you are to the light, the bigger the shadow.  Why?  Light travels in straight lines - it is absorbed by the object drawing closer to it and that object casts a larger shadow because it is between the light and the shadow!  So, if that object is you - the shadow being cast is not because you lack light, but because you are absorbing it!

Just to go one step further, when the light is directly above us and our focus is directly toward the sun, there is not much of a shadow cast.  Why?  The light and the object in the path of light are pretty closely aligned, allowing no shadow to be cast! The object lesson here - align to the light and you will not appreciate the shadows any longer!  Just saying!