Shadowlands
My wife told me a story about two social workers who were following up on a report of a child being abused. The house they were called to was in a very smart part of town. The house itself was absolutely immaculate. The parents were very respectable and seemed totally non plussed about the accusation. Both workers were slowly coming to the conclusion that the report was either a vicious prank or someone out to cause trouble. Until one of the social workers noticed something. Or rather she noticed nothing. No evidence that a child existed. No books. No toys. No photos of the child anywhere. It was as if the child didn’t exist. It was as if the child had been relegated to the shadows. The report turned out to be genuine.
Many of us can feel like that child from time to time. Some of us feel it a lot of the time. Relegated to the shadows. Overlooked. Erased. A shapeless nonentity, ignored by all. Jesus spent much of his ministry along side the nonentities. Healing their sick. Restoring their mentally deranged to normality. Feeding their hungry. Forgiving their wrongdoing. Calling them to a new life with him. He loved all of these people deeply and welcomed them. In the end he demonstrated his love for them by dying for them so that he might reconcile them to God and give them a new life. Life with someone who cares for them and values them.
If you’re someone living in the shadows there is a way out. There is a light at the end of the tunnel (and no it isn’t an oncoming train). Jesus offers that light and he offers it now.