Substance Over Shadow: Finding Faith in Jesus

Fear of Shadows

Tears trickled down her 2-year-old cheeks. Knees high, she quickly lifted one leg, then the other, afraid to let her feet touch the ground. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought she was walking across hot coals. 

My youngest and I were out for a walk. The sun shone brightly as we meandered our way through our neighborhood. Quickly scanning the gravel by her feet, I wondered if maybe a slithering something had startled her.

I saw nothing, but that did not settle my little girl’s cries for help. I kept watching, trying to figure out what caused such angst until I finally saw what vexed her . . . her shadow. Every time she tried to get away, that pesky little thing followed her. I tried to explain the science of shadows, but all my little girl wanted was me. Picking her up, I squeezed her tight, and whispered words of comfort and love.

Shadows trick us into thinking something is real when, in fact, it is not. Take a dark menacing shape displayed on the wall of a child’s room —like lightning, feelings shift to fear because of the shadow.

But shadows don’t just cause fear. Remember what happened in the beginning of Peter Pan? Peter lost his shadow, and Wendy helped him get it back. Peter’s shadow, though similar in shape and size, was not Peter. Shadows give the allusion of what is real, though they’re but a hint.

Settling for shadows

Scripture describes a similar perception in Hebrews 10:1. “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”

How often our hearts settle on the shadow of good things instead of the good thing itself —on Christ (Colossians 2:16). We substitute rules and regulations, the mere shadow of good, for what really is good. We look to rituals and miss the One who rescued us. 

Now, don’t get me wrong —rules are helpful. Rituals have a way of cementing us in tradition. However, when our focus becomes more about our outward behavior, the shadow of ourselves and what we do, we miss what God considers most —our hearts.  It is what is on the inside that counts and where we set our gaze. We learn that God cares more about our motives than our motions. 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

Paul wrote to the church of Colosse to address this idea around focusing more on behaviors rather than the heart.  Yes, Paul writes, those rules and rituals have value —but they are merely “shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.” (Colossians 2:17) They were missing Jesus. Paul reminds the people they had everything they needed in Jesus. It is in Him that we find freedom from sin. We have freedom from the tethering to rules so that our roots may grow deep and our faith becomes strong. 

Identifying shadows

So, how can we recognize the shadows in our lives? By reading God’s Word, and looking to Jesus. We spend time examining our hearts, asking ourselves tough questions. 

Do we look to rules to rescue us or the Rescuer Himself? 

Do we strive toward right behavior or stretch toward the Righteous One? 

And we turn from the shadow to remember there is not a single thing we can do on our own to save us —only Jesus’s death and resurrection does that. 

Let’s not mistake the shadow of faith for the reality of faith —for that faith is only found in Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of it all (Hebrews 12:2).

Call to action

Take time this week to pray, read and reflect on the following scriptures:

Colossians 2:16-23

Hebrews 10:1, 12:2

1 Samuel 16:7

Mark 7:6

Galatians 5:1

Questions to consider

1. Where are you settling for shadows instead of the Savior?
2. Do you care more about following rules or following Jesus?
3. Why do you think God cares so much about what is on the inside, in our hearts?
4. What is one step you can take to draw closer in relationship to Jesus? Is there sin you need to confess? Forgiveness to offer? Grace you need to accept?
5. Are you practicing your faith from a foundation of DONE or a foundation of DO?

**This post was originally written for Centralia Community Church’s blog: Beyond Sunday. You can read another guest post about faith here.**