Shadows and Substance

I have been asked by quite a few of you to explain my blog title. I have hit the threshold! Here is your explanation...

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
--Colossians 2:17

C.S Lewis once concluded:

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite quotes. The testimony of my life proves this quote to be true. Consider this illustration: it would be foolish to drive my car into the Ohio River, thinking that it would somehow float. Obviously, it was not designed for that! Truthfully speaking, I am not designed to have my eternal thirst quenched by drinking from the "mud puddles" of this fallen cosmos.

I realize that the audience reading this blog is diverse. You consist of Pharisees (self-righteous), tax collectors (filthy sinners), and everything in between (please read Luke 18:9-14). Yet we are all human beings, and we are all a part of an objective design. We know, in our heart of hearts, that the cosmos is not a product of random chance. We are not a coincidence. You can examine something as simple as eye color and come to this conclusion.

The majority of you have heard of the crucifixion of Jesus, the Christ. You have seen the cross jewlery. You have been to a cemetary and have seen the cross etched on tombstones. You have heard sermons in a variety of contexts. If nothing else, you have at least heard the name of Jesus Christ used as a form of profanity, as an expression of anger or disgust. Have you ever thought about why the name of Jesus Christ is profaned and degraded as opposed to every other religious figurehead?

It was about 4 years ago when I began asking myself the tough questions: What is history? Where did it come from? Who am I? What am I? Where am I going with my life? Why do I exist? Why do I believe what I believe? Where did my sense of right and wrong come from? Where do emotions come from? Why do I have emotions? What makes something beautiful?
WHY DO I CALL MYSELF A CHRISTIAN, AS OPPOSED TO ANY OTHER WORLD RELIGION? Why is my life BORING?? Is there a way to LIVE as opposed to merely EXISTING and then dying?

I had read the following verse before, but it never meant anything to me:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
--John 14:6

Then it dawned on me: Jesus Christ was claiming to be GOD. This meant that, if He was telling the truth, His entire life was a direct revelation of my Creator. He was telling the world that every way of life outside of a life devoted to Him was false idol worship. He claimed to be THE truth. He claimed to be the manifestation of Yahweh in the Old Testament, fulfilling the plethora of prophesies that were made. He was claiming to God, my God.

Using the logic of Lewis, there are only three descriptive words that could be attributed to Jesus in relation to this statement. He was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. In short, God revealed Himself to me in the face of Jesus Christ (please read 2 Corinthians 4:6). He is now the Lord of my life, and I now see reality through His lens. This is not a cute little story; it is REALITY.

All of history, all of creation, is revolving around the work that Jesus, the Christ, did on that bloody cross. The very breath I just took, as well as the physical strength that it is taking to type this sentence is literally from Jesus Christ alone. According to Colossians 1, He is holding my physical body together IN THIS MOMENT. My mindset shifted from the perception that life was made for me, to the perception that EVERYTHING was made from, through, and to Jesus Christ. The name, Christos, literally means "Messiah," or "Annointed One". Christ, for the record, is not Jesus' last name; it is His title. Jesus IS the Christ. He frees the fallen, corrupt humanity from its slavery. He rescued me by giving me eyes to see and ears to hear the Truth of my existance.

With that being said, we come to the text from which my title was derived:

For these are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance is found in Christ.
--Colossians 2:17

This verse, in its context, is a comparison between the Old Testament (Covenant) law and tradition and the New Testament (Covenant) fulfillment of FREEDOM in the revelation of Jesus, the Christ. We have been set free from sin; we have been set free from the guilt, shame, and condemnation that it yields. We have been created for a FULL life lived by dying to ourselves that we might gain more of the joy that is experienced in Him. This is the mirror opposite of the "have it your way" mentality that comes in many ways, shapes, and sizes in this age.

This world consists of many shadows that bring nothing but death and hell. A life lived in and for the shadows is dark and hopeless. It will yield only misery and pain. I lived in them; I know. I was confused and had no answer.

I do now. The substance is found in Christ.