Me and My Shadow

 Me and My Shadow

Sunday, November 07, 2021

There was a song sung many years ago called “Me and My Arrow” that seems like it should have been called “Me and My Arrow.” “Wherever we go, everyone knows, it's me and my (shadow).” And you’ve thought about it before. You cannot get rid of your shadow. It sticks to you, no matter how high you jump, or how fast you run.

Shadows don’t lie. They are an outline of your existence. Oh, they can be distorted, depending on the angle of the light behind you. They can make you appear bigger than life, or downright stumpy. But the fact of your existence is proclaimed by the reality of the shadow.

In other ways, we talk about a person’s “baggage.” It’s their moral shadow. It’s the consequences of actions and experiences that cannot be shaken or evaded. The word “baggage” is most often viewed as negative. But a person can also be known by their accomplishments. They also can be part of the shadow.

There are those who would like to reshape their identity. Many people talk about turning over a new leaf. I’ve known young people who decided to re-name themselves. They make some kind of “deep” change in who they are, but they often find that their most sincere intentions end up being superficial, and they are found to cast the exact same shadow as they did before, because they are, in fact, the same person. The same tendencies. The same desires. The same sins.

What does it take, then, to really change one’s shadow? I would suggest that it has less to do with how you project yourself, and it has more to do with the (L)ight that illumines you. Remember with me that the Bible talks about two sources of light. In Genesis, God commanded the light to shine, and it did! Right there on Day 1 of creation. But it wasn’t until Day 4 that the sun, moon and stars were created. How could there be light before the sun? At the end of the Bible, in Revelation, we find this: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Rev. 21:23)

The world’s light is always going to bind you to your shortcomings and sins. It will not allow you to escape your shadow. But Jesus, the new and true Light of the world, casts a new light in which your sins are erased; the chains fall off. This, as we see Him for who He is and what He has done, and embrace the salvation He offers by faith.