My Life As A Shadow

Mary Hopkin sang a popular song a number of years ago with this refrain:

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La la la la...

We know from the Bible and from experience that those days do end. The Bible compares the life of human beings to a single breath or a vapor or a shadow. That means human life is brief and temporary or life is short in light of eternity, for we were made to live forever, but sin and death got in the way, and salvation through Jesus Christ is the only solution.

 

 

Science says that a shadow is the dark shape made when something blocks light. You must have a source of light in order to have shadows. So a shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an object. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or a reverse projection of the object blocking the light. A shadow occupies a three-dimensional volume of space, but this is usually not visible until it projects onto a reflective surface. A light fog, mist, or dust cloud can reveal the 3D presence of volumetric patterns in light and shadow.

I found this interesting quote from NASA: You might not always notice it, but when you're in the sun, your shadow is often nearby. It may be in front of you or behind you or it may be to your side. Wherever it is, your shadow looks like you and moves like you.

 

 

Some of the wisest people in the Bible (and in history) thought and wrote about the brevity of their human lives. If these people thought it important to think about the shortness of life, how much more should we? Notice how each of them chooses to use the concept of a shadow to express their thoughts.

Job who lived 200 years or more, reflected on life in this way:

• Job 9:25: My days were swifter than a runner and will come to their end without hope.
• Job 8:9: We were born yesterday, and know nothing, because our days on earth are but a shadow.
• Job 14:2: Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away. Like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. Man’s days are determined. You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired man.

Moses lived 120 years, but still saw the brevity of life like this:

• 1 Chronicles 29:15: For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.
• Psalm 90:9-10: We spend our years as a tale that is told…it is soon cut off and we fly away.

Some of David’s thoughts are expressed in these verses:

• Psalm 39:4: Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is.
• Psalm 78:39: He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.
• Psalm 144:4: Man is like a puff of wind, his days like a fleeting shadow.
• Psalm 109:23: I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens. I am shaken off like a locust.
• Psalm 102:11: How my days are like an evening shadow and I wither away like grass.
• Psalm 119:19: I am here on earth for just a little while.

As Solomon reflected in Ecclesiastes 6:12, he asked himself, “For who knows what is good for a person during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a person what will happen after him under the sun?”

The Lord loved to use analogies or imagery in helping us grasp important truths. Jesus referred to the lilies in the field and how they grow…”They don’t work or make clothes for themselves, but even Solomon with all of his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. So, God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire (Matt 6:25-34).

So, let us consider how some of the New Testament writers (as followers of Christ) expressed the brevity of life.

In James 4:13-17 the Apostle James warns us: “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Peter wrote…”How all of our fleshly bodies are like grass that withers and dies” (1 Peter 1:24).

So how long does a shadow last? A shadow is gone just like that. Life is so short. Even if you live for 120 years like Moses or 969 years like Methuselah, it is still short compared to eternity. My life’s shadow began the moment I was conceived in my mother’s womb (just as my life as an hour glass did in last week’s study). Now the shadow my life makes here on earth is drawing closer to the point of disappearing and I will be no more. I never knew how many days my shadow would last to begin with and don’t know how many days are left in my shadow right now. So, all I can do is treat each day as if it is the last one, and I wake up in eternity.

In conclusion, let us consider some wise thoughts from a few serious minded people:

Pastor T. O. BANSO said, If we’re here just for a little while, why do people engage in the selfish grabbing of what belongs to all, as if they’ll live forever? Though people, young and old, die every day, human beings have failed to learn that the unhealthy pursuit of worldly possessions, to the detriment of their souls and well-being of fellow humans, is foolishness. So be wise! Don’t be foolish! Don’t let your focus be making a living without living for God! Please, see 1 Corinthians 7:31, from The Message translation of the Bible: “Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out” {From: The Message”}.

A shadow has no substance, it is fleeting and ephemeral, and it cannot be grasped before it fades away. Life, too, is transient, and it will soon fade away to death.

~ There is but a span between the cradle and the grave ~

 

The words below are from: https://www.evangelical-times.org/the-brevity-of-life/

Life is really brief. Yesterday you were planning your wedding; tomorrow you are planning the wedding of your child. It was only yesterday when your parents were all excited that you were being formed in your mother’s womb; tomorrow your friends will be mourning your demise as they return home from your grave-side. Yesterday, the world did not know that you would ever exist; tomorrow, the world will forget that you ever existed. How true are the words of Isaac Watts:

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

 

From Nancy McGuirk: “A life lived without God is senseless”
Once your search for life’s meaning goes beyond your little life, you are left with one inescapable fact: life revolves around God! He alone is eternal – without beginning or end. Whereas you may live longer than a cockroach, the duration of your earthly sojourn pales into insignificance when placed side by side with Him who is from everlasting to everlasting.
Secondly, and most importantly, meaning and fulfilment of your brief earthly life can only be found as you seek to obey, love and serve God. I cannot see it otherwise. A life lived without reference to God is as senseless as a runner in a relay race who, upon getting the baton, goes off to see his girlfriend. Here is a prayer for you.

Dear Faithfull, All-Knowing Heavenly Father,

“Eternal One, let me understand my end and how brief my earthly existence is; help realize my life is fleeting. You have determined the length of my days, and my life is nothing compared to You. Even the longest life is only a breath.” (Psalm 39:4-5) Please show us how to live our lives understanding the brevity of life. Enhance our wisdom so that we can fully enjoy life as you intended for each one of us. Open our hearts to love you, ourselves, and each other. Thank you dear Lord, Amen.

 

From “Gustafson”: Our vigor is fleeting, our best years are brief. Our youth passes quickly – time’s ever a thief. But hope yet becomes us –death’s sting holds no power; We have a Redeemer – an unfailing Tower.

 

From Billy Graham (who went to be with Lord in 2018) when a university student asked him this questions several years ago…”What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?” He replied without hesitation.

‘The brevity of it. Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over. As Jesus said, ‘As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work’ (John 9:4)”.

 

From Agnes Maude Royden: Of what benefit it is to acquire all earthly possessions and end up in hell fire? (Mark 8:36) It is meaningless. Think! Stop chasing the wind. “Learn to hold loosely all that is not eternal”

 

C. T. Studd, was a British missionary, born on December 2, 1860, in Spratton, United Kingdom, into a family of wealth and privilege. In 1883 he graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1885 entered the missions field with Hudson Taylor in China. He became a great missionary for Christ, but he also wrote the famous poem named “Only One Life, Twill Soon Be Past”.

But before his incredible missionary work, he became famous as a cricketer. He was very athletic and played for England in the 1882 match won by Australia, which was the origins of “The Ashes”.

Please take a couple of minutes to read his poem. It will touch your heart. He lived out the truth in his poem, so I listed a summary of his amazing life at the very end of this devotional (as well as a picture), if you want to learn about a person who lived what he preached, but don’t have time to read it today.

Only One Life, Twill Soon Be Past
by C.T. Studd

Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill.
living for self or in His will;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

__ extra stanza __

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

 

Does all of this say, “Okay, I’m just not going to waste it?” No, I am going to make my life count for Christ. Then kindly begin that new walk by saying this prayer now to make sure you have that eternal life beyond the shadow of your life here on earth, so you can then discover the purpose of your life now, while you are still here and have some time to serve.

 

O LORD God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I can never save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and was resurrected on the third day. I repent and confess my sinfulness to you. I confess Jesus as my LORD and Savior and completely surrender my life to Him today. I invite you Lord Jesus into my heart today. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God forever and ever.

Until next time – Yours in Christ!
Gene

 

A summary of the inspirational life of C. T. Studd

{Various facts pulled from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Studd}

C. T. Studd, was a British missionary, born on December 2, 1860, in Spratton, United Kingdom, into a family of wealth and privilege. In 1883 he graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1885 entered the missions field with Hudson Taylor in China. Studd's wealthy father Edward Studd became a Christian during a Moody and Sankey campaign in England, and a visiting preacher to the Studd home, Tedworth House in Wiltshire, converted C.T. and two of his brothers to the faith while they were students at Etonstudents at Eton.

According to his conversion story, the preacher asked him if he believed God's promises to give believers eternal life. Charles would only go so far as to profess he believed Jesus Christ died, so the guest pressed the point, and Charles then believed on the Lord Jesus for his salvation. Charles later recalled the moment:

"I got down on my knees and I did say 'thank you' to God. And right then and there joy and peace came into my soul. I knew then what it was to be 'born again,' and the Bible which had been so dry to me before, became everything".

In 1884 after his brother George was taken seriously ill Charles was confronted by the question, "What is all the fame and flattery worth...when a man comes to face eternity?" He had to admit that since his conversion six years earlier he had been in "an unhappy backslidden state". As a result of the experience he said, "I know that cricket would not last, and honor would not last, and nothing in this world would last, but it was worthwhile living for the world to come."

Studd emphasized the life of faith, believing that God would provide for a Christian's needs. His father died while he was in China. He then gave away his inheritance of £29,000, specifying £5,000 to be used for the Moody Bible Institute, £5,000 for George Müller mission work and his orphans, £5,000 for George Holland's work with England's poor in Whitechapel, and £5,000 to Commissioner Booth Tucker for the Salvation Army in India.

Studd believed that God's purposes could be confirmed through providential coincidences, such as a sum of money being donated spontaneously at just the right moment. He encouraged Christians to take risks in planning missionary ventures, trusting in God to provide. His spirituality was intense, and he mostly read only the Bible. Although he believed that God sometimes healed physical illnesses through prayer and the anointing of oil, he also accepted that some ailments were chronic.

As an athlete, Studd also believed in plain speaking and muscular Christianity, and he called for Christians to embrace a "Don't Care a Damn" (DCD) attitude to worldly things”. He believed that missionary work was urgent, and that those who were unevangelized would be condemned to hell. Some of his memorable quotes were:

• Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.
• Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.
• If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.
• The light that shines farthest, shines brightest, nearest home.
• God’s real people have always been called fanatics.
• The “romance” of a missionary is often made up of monotony and drudgery. There often is no glamor in it. It doesn’t stir a man’s spirit or blood. So don’t come out to be a missionary as an experiment. It is useless and dangerous. Only come if you feel you would rather die than not come. Don’t come if you want to make a great name or want to live long. Come if you feel there is no greater honor, after living for Christ, than to die for Him.
• The best cure for discouragement or qualms is another daring plunge of faith.
• Christ wants not nibblers of the possible, but grabbers of the impossible by faith in the omnipotence, fidelity, and wisdom of the Almighty Savior.

So - Studd became an evangelist. As a result of his brother's illness and the effect it had upon him, he decided to pursue his faith through missionary work in China. Studd became one of the "Cambridge Seven", a group of former Cambridge students who offered themselves to Hudson Taylor for missionary service at the China Inland Mission, leaving for there in February 1885.

 

The Cambridge Seven
*Dressed in traditional Chinese Clothes (under the influence of Hudson Taylor) to more naturally relate to the Chinese people they wanted to reach for Christ.

 

While in China, he married Priscilla Livingstone Stewart (a fellow missionary) in a ceremony performed by a Chinese pastor, and four daughters were born. Studd believed that God had given him daughters to educate the Chinese about the value of baby girls.

Studd also went on to accomplish important works for the Kingdom of God in India among the Indian people as well as the British people living and working there and then in the large parts of Africa that had never been reached with the gospel.

One of his operating principles was that funds for his ministries should never be directly solicited, but provided for by God in answer to prayer. On 16 July 1931, still laboring for the Lord at Ibambi (in Africa) at the age of seventy, Charles Studd died from untreated gallstones.

Studd's vision for China, India and Africa was then carried on by Norman Grubb, who spent some fifteen years in China and six in India on his missionary work. He devoted the rest of his life to spreading the Gospel message in Africa, founding the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade (now WEC International).

Studd continues to be remembered for his poem, "Only One Life, 'Twill Soon Be Past". Many are unaware that he wrote this poem. Its memorable verse states:

Only one life 'twill soon be past.
Only what's done for Christ will last.

This poem inspired the song "Only One Life" written by Lanny Wolfe in 1973.