Living in the Shadow

If you’re like me, or most Christians one of your greatest desires is to fulfill God’s purpose for your life. Although this is a great ambition it has sadly become the focal point of Christianity for most instead of Jesus and His sacrifice. My mentor calls it the “Christian American Dream” – fulfilling God’s purpose for your life. While this is great we must not forget that the gospel of Jesus is not truly about us and our life, but instead about the life of Jesus and how He desires to continue living it through us. Galatians 2:20 states:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself to me.”

By belief in Jesus we chose to die as He did on the cross. We now live a crucified life as stated above. We trade places with Jesus. Upon salvation we enter into an exchange agreement with God: we exchange our sin for His righteousness. We exchange our lives for His. That is why to live is Christ and to die is gain – because it is when we die to ourselves and our desires, Christ may live in us. He continues the mission He began over 2000 years ago when He walked this earth: the mission to save Humanity and reconcile the human race to the Loving Heavenly Father. So if you are a Christian, then no matter what path He specifically chooses, that is your mission: to reconcile humanity to God the Father through the gospel of Jesus.

If you truly want to fulfill your purpose that means you want to be used by God. And if you truly want to be used by God it will cost you something. No, actually it will cost you EVERYTHING. God is not calling us to live a nice life of comfort with Him in the mix. (This is what American Christianity has become today – a sprinkle of Jesus.) In the words in Judah Smith: 

“Jesus did not come to improve portions of our life but instead give us an entirely new life.”

God is calling us to forsake all.  God is calling us to be Holy. God is calling us to be different. God is calling us to be set apart. No, what God is actually calling us to be is a SHADOW.

A shadow? I don’t get it. Follow along. Keep reading.

Ezekiel 1:12, 20-21

“Wherever the Spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went.”

“Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Where those went, these went, and when those stood, these stood; when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.”

The passage above is a description of living creatures that carried the glory of God amongst the earth.  They were carriers of His glory just as we are as believers. Upon our belief in Christ we receive the Holy Spirit and the bible says He dwells in us. We become a dwelling place for God. We become carriers of His glory.

John 14:17

“You know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Back to Ezekiel – As I was reading this I became amazed at the depiction of these carriers of God’s glory. A few things stood out to me as I read and digested these verses:

1)    The creatures were immediate followers of the Spirit of God.

“Wherever the Spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went”

These creatures did not allow themselves to get distracted by their surroundings. Their eyes were fixated on the Spirit of God. They did not give their flesh time to intervence.

2)   “Without turning” – they followed God exactly as He lead. Therefore they were only a mere echo of what the Spirit was doing and saying.

3)   “Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went.”

They submitted their wants to God’s wants. What He wanted was what they abided by. They obviously didn’t have any wants or killed their wants. The followed and abided by only the wants and desires of a perfectly Good Heavenly Father.

4)   “When those went, these went, and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them”

THEY WERE A MERE ECHO OF GOD. A SHADOW. A SHADOW HAS NO CONTROL, NO SAY. IT SIMPLY MIMICS ITS CREATOR.

Has your shadow ever done anything you didn't do? I hope not. My prayer for myself, and every Christian, is that we will take on our true identity as shadows of God. I pray that we will be like Jesus – that we will mimic only what we see the Father do and say only what the Father tells us to say. I pray that our lives become the definition of the Lord’s prayer – “on earth, as it is in Heaven”. That our lives will be pure manifestations of what has already been done in the heavenly realm. That is my hope and ambition. Will you join me? I pray you do. Pick up your cross and become a shadow today.

Until next time,

Camille4Christ

My first selfie as a shadow :)