"Mommy, help! Look! There's a monster in my room!" Mom hurries into her preschool child's room, turns on the light--and the monster's gone! She quickly reassures her little child, "That wasn't a monster, honey--it was only shadows playing tricks on you. Go back to sleep--Mommy is here, and you will be fine!"
Shadow nightmares. Shadow tricks. Shadows--a part of life! And into the scene of the lowly manger comes a shadow--a shadow of awesome beauty many will miss this Christmas season. It's the shadow of the Cross, hovering over the Savior of the world, a tiny newborn baby in a manger. A shadow there for you and me. Let's tiptoe from the Well to that scene!
A Helping Word...or Two!
There's Hope in the Shadow of the Cross!...All because a Child was born to die--for you and for me! The dark shadows of despair and hopelessness need not haunt me any longer, for beyond the manger, I see a Savior Who brings light and hope into my world. If all I see is a sweet Baby in a manger, a "little Lord Jesus" who remains in the cradle, then I have missed the most precious truth of history. Christ in human flesh, come as an infant, remained not an infant. He came, not to be born, but to die--to bear the sins of humanity, that you and I might be reconciled to God. See not a gruesome, ugly shadow of death--see a glorious, awesome shadow of life, of promise, and of hope.
There's Healing in the Shadow of the Cross!...All because a Child was born to live--for you and for me! He grew "in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and with man." Healing poured from His very being to touch the lame, the halt, and the blind. It poured forth to touch the weary, the worried, and the wayward. And it poured forth from Calvary to heal our souls, our minds, and our bodies. Do you see what I see? Not just a Baby's tiny, chubby hand reaching for the sky--I see a nail-scarred Hand I can hold on to in my deepest need--that Hand, wounded for me, now reaches to touch the wounds of my life--physical, emotional, spiritual, and I draw near to the shadow that brings healing to my life.
There's Heaven in the Shadow of the Cross!...All because a Child was born to reign--for you and for me! The Baby grew; He became a Man; He died, was resurrected, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Baby's infant cries are now the King's intercessory prayers--and it's all in the shadow of the Cross. Do you see what I see? There is an Authority, a Higher Power, a Majesty working behind the scenes of our lives, to bring order, direction, and purpose. To bring victory, triumph and joy. To hear our cries, listen to our dreams, and bend ear to our petitions. To bring heaven to our souls.
Christmas--a time of joy? Certainly! But also a time when monstrous shadows of pain, loneliness, and grief, can haunt, harrass, and overwhelm. Give them to Jesus! Let them disappear in the light of His Love. Hope, healing, heaven--it's all there--right beyond the manger. Whatever you need this Christmas is waiting for you--in the shadows, not of your pain, but of the Cross! Believe it, receive it, and know the greatest Christmas gift you could ever open--His living, dying, reigning love--it's yours--in the shadow of the Cross!
And now, if you see what I see, you can get on with living. For God is here, and you will be fine!
And that's just a word...or two, from my heart to yours!
His Healing Word
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV)."
