Length of Your Shadow

Yesterday, I finished writing a lesson plan on "Casting Shadows," which is required Kindergarten curriculum according to the Virginia Department of Education's standards of learning. I spent a lot of time researching light and shadow and how objects in the light can manipulate their shadows according to their proximity to the light.

This morning, I finished my read-through of the book of Revelation where John, with the most incredible mic drop ever, describes the Holy City in its perfect measurements with its flawless precious stones and twelve gates made of a single pearl each. And then: "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:22-27).

I had to make a list of materials needed to teach the lesson plan I wrote, and one of those was a lamp, spotlight, or flashlight - something bright in order to make shadows more pronounced than what might happen with the more muted classroom lights. 

The sharper the light, the more clear-cut the shadow.

The closer the object to the light, the longer the cast of the shadow, the greater the shadow's effect on anything behind it.

Jesus is the Light, and those in His light will cast shadows. The closer we are to Him, the greater our effectiveness. Isaiah 9:2 says in prophetic reference to the first coming of Jesus: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great Light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a Light has dawned."

Matthew 5:14-16 says: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

There's a distinction between the Light and the light. One Light is the Source, the other light is the reflection. It's important never to confuse the two. The reflected light is only reflected because it is close to the Source Light. Both can shed light to pierce the darkness. Those closest to the Source Light have the lengthiest effect. Ask yourself: how effective is your shadow? 

I woke up this morning discouraged. I allowed the tiniest thought into my head, which echoed through it like a pistol shot as soon as it eked inside my mind: Why am I doing this? How effective am I being, really?

I'd love to say that God gave me a panorama picture of my spiritual prowess and the sweeping breadth of my victorious battles against the enemy. He didn't. I waited for a while. Any time now, Lord. 

He did, in quietness as per usual with Him, lead me to 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

I love reading Old Testament stories; I can relate to so many of them. In 1 Kings 19, starting in verse 9, one of my favorite people is struggling just a little bit like I was this morning. "And the word of the Lord came to him: 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

"He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, broken down Your altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.'"

Poor Elijah. I mean, I can't really blame him for the pity party; it was a lot to carry - those things he listed. His complaint was, however, very "me-centered."

In verse 11, God responded to the pity party: "The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.'

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

"Then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

It's almost like... or it's exactly like... God was saying: "Okay, Lige, let's try this again." 

I do this with my kindergartners. "Mrs. Shoemaker, come here!" The space between my eyebrows above my mask gets really narrow in the middle; we've talked about eyebrow language. "I'm sorry, darling student, let's try that one more time." Instant contriteness. "Mrs. Shoemaker, could you come here, please?" Oh, so much better. 

God issues the Take 2: "'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

"He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death, and now they are trying to kill me, too.'"

Oh, Elijah. Word for word from his first try. I can almost hear God taking a great breath of patience. He relented and gave Elijah some instructions as he returned the way he came, and then said, "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."

Elijah wasn't alone. Even when he felt alone, there were seven thousand others who were faithfully serving the Lord in the face of great persecution (see all the stories about Ahab and Jezebel).

Even when we can't see the others we're serving with, even when we get discouraged and think we're in this fight by ourselves or with very few others, let's remember the length of our shadow, the long stretch of our effectiveness the closer we draw to the heart of God, who is our Source, our Light, and let's be encouraged.