Shadows 

   “For now we see as in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.  Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Cor 13: 12) 

   We live in a world of shadows.  We think we see clearly, but much is hidden from our human eyes.  We may see the effect, but we do not see or understand the cause in many cases.  Our ways are not the ways of God and we can never fully understand His reasonings.

   Truth and honesty can easily be disguised by flowery words and thoughts.  We see and hear the message, but we don’t notice the demon that has originated the thought.  What may sound right to us may, in fact, be a creation of Satan designed to fool the easily swayed and those who are afraid to challenge what may not seem quite right.

   We seek peace and often think we’ve found it, but the peace of this world is not the peace of God.  The peace Jesus gives is a peace that can never be taken from us and knows no end.  The peace offered by this world is frequently a façade, a fake hiding a shabby reality.

   The joy and happiness we find in this world is fickle and short-lived at best, and, at worse, a lie.  We do not understand what the joy and happiness of God’s kingdom will provide; happiness far greater than we’ve ever known and joy without end.

   To catch even a glimpse of what is real we must look and listen through the eyes and ears of faith.  We must test the spirits and look for the fruits they produce.  If we give our love, trust, and faith to God, we will come to what is true and what is right; He will lead us to His kingdom where we will know what we cannot know, see what we cannot see and hear what we cannot hear.