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The Shadow

by Jerry Ousley  
5/23/2009 / Christian Living

When our kids were younger we used to play a game that I'm sure many of you have played with your own children. It usually took place at bedtime and with the room dark we'd turn on a flashlight or perhaps a dim nightlight and make shadows with our hands. It was fun trying to form rabbits and frogs, deer and other creatures by twisting and moving our fingers. The kids always tried to make them too and with some help they would succeed in getting close.

While playing in the shadows can be fun we know the shadow is only a dim image of what is real. The shadows can hold looming monsters or delightful and playful creatures. Often it is what is perceived in our minds and in a way reflects our joys, ambitions and fears.

In Hebrews 10:1 the writer talks about shadows. He says, "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect." It's of course referring to the old sacrificial system of the Jews under the Law of Moses. Each year they would perform sacrifices for the nation to cleanse of sin and rebellion. During the course of the year the people would bring sacrifices for their own personal sins and disobedience. The writer of the Hebrews (who some think is Paul while others believe to be another writer) was well versed and educated in the Law of Moses. They understood all the regulations and rituals.

But he also knew that all these things were merely types, symbols and representations of what God really planned not only for the Jewish Nation but for the entirety of mankind. It had always been God's plan to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to be the final sacrifice for sin. He became the sacrifice of sacrifices. He was the only perfect man and the only one fit to pay the price for our sin and rebellion against God.

The writer of Hebrews knew that this sacrificial system of the Jews was only a shadow of what was to come. It was in type to show what Jesus Christ came to do to "buy back" the soul of man. Even though these rituals were kept religiously each year they could never ever make the people perfect; it was only a temporary appeasing. It was only good until they yielded themselves to temptation once again and then the process had to be repeated.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ allowing Himself to be slain on the cruel Roman cross spilling His blood as the "Lamb Who takes away the sin of the word" became the final sacrifice. Because Jesus was sinless and perfect when we come to Him confessing that we have sinned, acknowledging that we are helpless to save ourselves, and without excuse we ask Him to forgive us, then believe in our hearts to the point the we are willing to now become His, He will save us.

He saves us from the curse of sin placed on the world so long ago. He saves us from the penalty of sin which is eternal death. He saves us from our own helpless, sinful condition. He actually takes away our shame, our guilt and our sin. In place of all this He makes us new, gives us a new start and new life in Him.

I remember as a child the day my father got saved. Before that his skin always had a dark look. Oh, he was a good man. He was good to his family. But he was not a Christian. That night he intended to respond to the call of Christ. He had gone with us to a church service with that intent in his mind. He went to the altar and without regret gave his life to Jesus Christ. I will never forget the new look on his face when he returned to his seat. His face looked brighter. It was a reflection of the work God had done in his life. The shadows were gone and now the real man had emerged. Are you ready to stop living in the shadows?

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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