Us Southerners know all about hot. We know all about the sun, sunburns ... and heat strokes! Conversely, we know all about shade and the sweet relief that even a small amount of shade can bring on a hot, sunny day. Add in some ice-cold sweet tea and a fan …. watch out! We, all humanity, are conditioned to escape from the harsh elements of this world and to seek shelter. Sometimes that shelter is thought out, well designed; sometimes it is the first bit of shade we can find – whatever it takes!
It is a hard world we live in – even harder for believers. It has been that way since Genesis 3 and will continue to be that way until Jesus Christ returns. In Genesis, God tells Adam ...
Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat from from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you…until you return to the ground…and dust you will return. Genesis 3:17-19
Creation was not designed to be this way, but sin has marred creation and we, because of sin, live in a hard, harsh world.
Our default brokenness often drives us to seek reprieve/relief from the harsh elements of this broken world in illegitimate ways. These can be good things that become idols: work, kids, spouse. These can be coping tendencies that are not inherently evil ... but become an escape for us: mindless TV, food, alcohol, golf, sports, etc. These can also be things that are simply sinful, but we go to them anyway: pornography, infidelity, drugs, etc.
These illegitimate ways are ‘shifting shadows’ in our lives. We are seeking shade, which we find in shifting shadows, which can and often do have long term consequences in our lives. The shade they offer is temporary, shifting away and causing us to go deeper into the shadows; only finding relief by increasing our usage of the numbing, distracting behaviors. Before long, these shifting shadows can become habits, which can become addictions, and idols in our life.
Many of these shifting shadows are not inherently wrong – but making them the most important thing, or even as important, as God in our lives is where we go astray.
God offers a shade that is perfect for us. We see this perfect shade referenced many times in scripture, with Psalm 91 being a great example. It is a shade that provides protection from our enemies, provision in our times of need, and most importantly, it is always there for us ... never shifting.
We find this shade in one place only – in the Kingdom of God by “seeking first the kingdom of God” as Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:33:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
This is the important part, seek FIRST the Kingdom of God. It is a matter of priority. We can find permanent shade by seeking not shade, not relief, not reprieve ... but seeking first the Kingdom of God.
-Pastor Brian
