PureVolume

The Shadow of Belief

The shadow proves the sunshine. That is what the whole experience was supposed to teach. It was the one piece of wisdom that was supposed to be passed on.

In each dark alley of life, there was always that dull illumination that would allow you to see just one tiny bit. And in that tiny bit, you were looking at an eternal truth. Half of us never realize quite what that truth is, and the other half, while realizing it never take it to heart. But we are called to be non-conformist on this matter. We are never to give up. Let us not focus on the dark, but the glimmer of that light.

Though we do not know where it is coming from, we can be sure that it is pure. Do you know of any light that when shone upon filth is infected by it? No, instead it is a constant. It is always pure, never contaminated.

Our lives are not so. Our thoughts betray us to that very fact. Do you consider yourself pure? Has your soul not been tainted by the filth of sin? Do not lie to yourself, for in that lie, you receive only death. It is a death that is permanent and cold. But when a warm embrace is waiting to take you up in it's arms, that cold is so harsh and unbearable. I would prefer the relationship over the abandonment. Especially when that abandonment would have been of my own making.

You and I have a power that in unimaginable, yet you do not even know that you possess it. And for those that do know of it, they do not really understand it. That power is one of choice. We have the ultimate power: to choose.

Reading this, you must assume that the basis for it is my faith. A faith that while not complete by my own hand (for who of us can have something complete without His grace?), is never going to fade. It is a faith that tells me He is there. That He will always be there. It is a faith that shows me what I would not see, that is the illumination to my mind, forcing me to realizing just who He is, and just who I am not.

But, most importantly, it is a faith that I chose.

Many of us wonder why the most horrid things happen to those that are considered innocent. Why does the nine year old child get abused at home? How can He allow that?

The answer is in that statement: the shadow proves the sunshine.

Of all people, believe me when I tell you that true happiness will never come before complete darkness. True love waits for your choice. But we rarely make that choice before true hate. For every hope, every desire, every need, we make a choice. But we can not make that choice without first experiencing the shadow. And it is that shadow that frightens us into submission.

We release ourselves to the bonds of this world. Our wrists are tied behind our backs, our mouths shut by the hands of society. We are told not to speak. We are commanded to sit down. But I will sit no longer!

It is time for a change. It is time that we spoke, that we allowed Him to break away the cords that bind us. No one else will. No one else can. So why is it that we always resist and break away from the only one that has ever had a complete love for us?

We reject the one thing that our hearts, our very lives, require. We push it away and are left with this empty void that screams within, struggling to escape into something meaningful. But without Him, there is no meaning. Without Him, we are without purpose.

This is a plea, an argument to stand up next to me. To allow our crying hearts to be transformed into dry eyes in the pouring rain. Yes, we will suffer. We are called to suffer. And the question was always why? And the answer will always be because without that rain in our lives, we will not make that choice to follow Him and obey. That rain is our suffering, but it washes us. It washes us of our pride, our worldly hearts, and our self-reliance.

He could just allow us to never experience that suffering. He could just have us all know Him from the beginning. So why doesn't he? It all comes back to meaning. It all comes down to the shadow proving the sunshine. We can not be sure of Him if we are not sure of who He is. He is as light, showing us all things. Yet we do not know that those objects are only seen by this other thing, this light, until we see the source of that light. The shadow shows us the source.

The word was desperation. It was a description of the longing for that source. But do not have to long for it anymore, not now with the death and resurrection of Christ. We have it now. "And the word is believe. We are all dying to believe. And dying because we don't."

I am tired of death. I am tired of sorrow and repression. These things I do not claim, and I urge you to claim them no longer. There is a hope. But that hope only comes in that state of "believe" that we are all striving to enter, even if we do not know it. God is patient and loving. He will wait for you. But why would you wait to act on the choice?

The choice is between keeping the light on or turning it off. Will we do what is right or what is wrong? Will we believe or reject? But above all, will we love Him as He loved us, or will we reject the one gift that is given to us simply because He cares?

If you have ever asked the question, "Oh Lord, why have you forsaken me?" this is for you. If you have ever said, "Lord, don't be far away," take this to heart. He loves you. He cares. And while it may seem as though He is not listening, the truth is that he hears every word. Do not deny Him or what He can do. Accept Him and believe. That is the word. That is what the shadow shows us how to do.

Believe.

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