20120826
When I was in primary school, I learned a poem entitled “My Shadow” by Robert Louis Stevenson that still remains in my mind after these many years.
“I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.”
I learn then the meaning between the real “me” and the imagery “my shadow”.
Reflecting on the two dimensional “my shadow” will only give limited information of “me”. My shadow has a reality to it so long there is a light source.
The writer of Hebrews informs the hearers/readers that there are two realities called the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The New Covenant is the reality that is promised by the shadow of the Old Covenant. This is made possible by the light of revelation in the coming of His Son from Heaven – Jesus who came as the Lamb of God, the acceptable sacrifice to take care of the sins of the world. The earthly sanctuary and sacrifices was inadequate and had to be replaced by a heavenly “once and for all” sacrifice provided in the person of Jesus. The light of God’s revelation reveals the reality of the heavenly Sanctuary that the shadow of the earthly sanctuary gave a glimpse of. God in His love for us made all this possible so that people can be fully reconciled to Him.
There is no longer a need to abide by the requirement of the shadow: “by the same sacrifices repeatedly endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship” (Heb. 10:1). The inadequate system of “an annual reminder of sins” (Heb. 10:3) of the Levitical sacrificial system is now obsolete. By faith in Jesus we become people who have been “cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins” (Heb. 10:2). We come to God by the reality of the New Covenant and fully able to approach our holy God in worship. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22). The shadow is gone – the reality is here!
