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In the 1953, Disney released the classic animated film Peter Pan. We first meet Peter as he is trying to deal with a very serious problem. He had lost his shadow. While it was supposed to be attached to him all the time, mimicking his form and movements, Peter's shadow was misbehaving. Through the rest of the film, we see one adventure after another involving exotic lands, fairies, pirates, and one poor St. Bernard dog just trying to look after the children. A misbehaving shadow can cause all kinds of problems!

In the Book of Genesis, we eavesdrop on a divine statement that carries a lot of meaning for us all. God says, "Let us make mankind in our Image". The word here for "image" gets used in scripture for two things. One is a statue of the king that would be erected in a city so the people would know who the Boss was. That way, when the king was not present, the people would still know what he was like.

The other use for the word translated as "image" in Genesis is "shadow". Humanity was created to be God's shadow. A good shadow is forever linked to the One who casts it. A shadow is a kind of reflection of its Caster on the earth. The shadow holds the shape of the object that created it. It does not move or act on its own, but only in response to what the Shadow Caster does. In fact, anyone can tell who is just around the corner by looking at the shadow. No one shadow is like another. All shadows are unique, according to what creates them.

This is God desire for us! We were created to be God's shadow! That means we have tremendous potential! We are uniquely special, strong, and capable...but only if we remain attached to the One who created us. God is doing great things. We ought to reflect this. When he moves, we ought to match the movement, where God goes, we ought to go. Where he touches, we ought to touch. This is right and beautiful. However, a misbehaving shadow can cause all kinds of trouble.

I'm sure you have notices suffering, evil, and pain in the world. Wherever such things are seen, we can usually find a person or people doing what a shadow of God was not supposed to be doing. Like Peter's shadow, we ran off on our own, doing our own thing in our own way. When we do that, things go sideways. People get hurt, and the world loses sight of what the King looks like.

The solution is simple. Choose to be a good shadow. Stay attached to the Shadow Caster. Do as He does. Move how He moves. Reflect His form. He is moving to heal, rebuild, and restore. Are you?

Pastor Even Elwell

Pomeroy Church of the Nazarene