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Wednesday 30 April 2014

The Land of Shadow Life

I have met five people in the States who are the walking dead. These five people have experienced no or little happiness in their lives. I do not know all the details of their lives, but they are baby-boomers and Gen-Xers who have never found joy.

I have thought about their deep, deep unhappiness and how they have dealt with years of living in shadows. Three of them do not go to any church and two do. The common denominator of all five is that they have not experienced God’s love in their lives.

They have been married and divorced, in one case, married and still married, in two cases and the other three are single and always have been. The sadness they carry around in their souls may be temporarily hidden by activity, a sense of humor, or even religiosity. But, none of them can hide the fact that they are deeply unhappy.

I have tried to be friends with these sad souls, but they do not like being around peaceful people. Almost as if they have to hide in a crowd of like-minded people, they choose friends, and even spouses, who have lived in the shadow worlds with them.

The shadows of their lives have been created by a light far away from their consciousness, a light which seem impossible for them to grasp. A few of the five do not believe in the source of the light, hating themselves and others, seeing all others as deceitful, falling into a great cynicism.

Some do not think the light is accessible because they have chosen to take the sufferings of the world on their backs, not realizing that God has already saved all mankind, through the redemptive act on the cross of Jesus Christ. These have not accepted the grace of salvation and believe they must save themselves and others.

As I stand on the edge of their shadow lands and look in, I wonder why they choose the darkness over and over again. Why do they not want the light of life to pierce through their darkness, illuminating not only their sin, but the love which God bestows on them daily?

“The dwarves are for the dwarves” was the cry of those unfortunate creatures in the last Narnia tale who would not accept the goodness, the purity, the light of heaven.


Love opens the door to the world of light, and leads one out of the land of shadows. I pray all five of these people choose life at some point in their lives. I pray that they want to live in the fullness of God’s love for them.