We all live under many shadows.
We may live under the shadow of expectations – from family members or others – which can drive us to always feel like we are not good enough, or that we need to somehow keep proving ourselves.
We may live under the shadow of things that happened to us which now cause us to live in bitterness or fear, paralyzing us from living a full life.
We may live under the shadow of guilt because of what we’ve done wrong in our lives, guilt that eats away at us mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically.
But when we come to the Cross, we see all our sin, our grief, our hurts, taken up by our Lord Jesus Christ.
“He Himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
At the Cross, Jesus did what no one else could do. He took the penalty of sin for us, and he made it possible for us to be healed from the wounds caused by sin – both our own wrongdoing and the wrongs done to us. When we come to God asking if He will forgive and heal us, the Cross of Christ is His answer – Yes.
More than that, we see our goals and ambitions, the things that drive us, also nailed to the Cross.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
We are not defined by what people say we are or should be. We are not defined by what we ourselves think we are or should be. When we accept what Jesus has done for us on the Cross, we are defined by one thing – who we are in Christ. Discovering that identity and living it out is the foundation of our Christian life.
At the Cross, we find forgiveness, not failure. We find faith, not fear. We find purpose in living for our Saviour, not living for ourselves.
As the Apostle Paul put it so beautifully, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Many things will cast shadows in our lives. But there is only one shadow we should live under – the shadow of the Cross.
By Jan Choo, Assistant Pastor (YCKC Bulletin 10&11 August 2013)