One of the worst insults in modern Western culture is to be deemed “intolerant”. Of course, often that word, tolerance, is misappropriated and used in ways that make no sense, especially when it comes to moral and/or religious beliefs.  But that knowledge likely won’t help you feel more comfortable talking about faith around the water cooler.  Greg Koukl explains this further in his article “When Tolerance is Intolerant“.

Doug Pollock is currently an evangelism trainer with Athletes in Action, a ministry of Campus Crusade. On his website GodsGPS.com he seeks to help people have better spiritual conversations. He wants to find answers to the question: “How can you bring God into the conversation without shutting the conversation down?”

Take a look through the GodsGPS website, and don’t miss the extremely useful list of “Wondering Questions“ intended to spark meaningful discussions.

Have you ever talked with coworkers, neighbors, or friends about faith topics? How did you approach the topic to encourage cordial conversations?

Image credit: ohhector, used with permission, Creative Commons 2.0 License.

“Mommy, my shadow follows me everywhere I go!” my younger daughter exclaimed on making this amazing discovery.

“That’s because it belongs to you, and you alone,” I answered.

Have you ever thought about that?  You have a shadow that belongs exclusively to you.  When a light is shining from somewhere, your shadow falls on something–the ground, a wall, a stairway…or maybe a child.

If you stand perfectly still, your shadow does too.  If you move, the shadow moves.  If the light moves, the shadow also moves.  And if there are two lights behind you, then you have two shadows.

After the Apostle Peter healed a lame man through the power of Jesus Christ, the people in Jerusalem were greatly impressed.  The Bible says, “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by” (Acts 5:14-15).

Since Peter was living and witnessing in the power of the Lord, he was thought to cast a beneficial, healing shadow.  Whether this was true or not, the Bible doesn’t say.  But it certainly is true that the shadow our lives cast on others affects them.

In some cases one’s shadow might fall on someone who is trying to read, and thus keep him from seeing.  In order for him to see, that person has to move and let the light flood in.

So it may be that the shadow of a professing Christian’s life is keeping people from seeing the light concerning salvation or living for Christ.  They may be blinded to the wonderful truths of God by the dark shadow that person casts.  How important then is it that we who are parents, church leaders, and among those who teach children and young people God’s Holy Word move the “I” part of ourselves out of the way so that all those who know us or are under our influence may see the light of Jesus Christ shine in and through us and all we do and say!

When we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ, then His Spirit can fill us and His love can shine forth in various ways to others, in kindness, compassion and sensitivity.  I can remember a Sunday School teacher who made that impression on me; she was a light to me and my young life.

My mother used to say about my younger brother, “I have a little shadow; it goes everywhere with me.”  Even so, at our church and in our families and neighborhoods we have young “shadows” who look up to us for an example, who may follow our way of life if it is a good one.

We are all just sojourners in this world; yet on the basis of our short earthly lives is decided the rewards we will enjoy for eternity, based in part on the shadows we cast.

Questions: How is your shadow affecting the lives of others around you? Is your shadow keeping someone from seeing the Light?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, My Message is About Him, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog