VIEWPOINT

In 1998, British artists Tim Nobel and Sue Webster created an amazing work of art. In ordinary daylight, it is simply an unsightly pile of trash—six months’ worth of discarded newspapers, boxes, old shoes, wire, plastic bags, and plastic bottles. Something magical happens, though, the moment the overhead light is extinguished and the cast-off rubbish is illuminated by a carefully placed spotlight. Suddenly, an astonishingly clear shadow-image of the artists is projected against the wall. It’s lines are so distinct and so exact that you can see their individual likenesses. You might even recognize them if you met them on the street.

Individually, each piece of wire and broken bottle casts an insignificant shadow. Collectively, they undergo an incredible transformation. And there’s a lesson for us in this shadow art. Individually, none of us cast an impressive shadow. Without a doubt, someone in our world sees us as merely something to be stepped on, or stepped over, as they pass on their way somewhere else.

But God is no less an artist than Tim Nobel and Sue Webster. In his church, he places all of us in creative connections with our brothers and sisters. Through inspiration, the apostle Peter caught a glimpse of this artistry. We are not merely fellow church-goers, he wrote in his first letter, we are living stones who are being built up into a spiritual house. When the light of God’s presence shines in and through an apparently random assemblage of imperfect people, we cast an astonishing shadow. The image we project is the image of Christ himself. Incredibly, God, our Artist, has a place for each one of us in his self-portrait. We are all unlikely contributors to his image, his presence, in the world.

In his essay “Self Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.”  As an institution, the church can sometimes look like a little more than a miscellaneous collection of incompatible people.  But our Maker has designed us to cast a long shadow.  He’s ready to shine his light through us and upon us.  All we have to do is find our places. (from The Herald of Encouragement)

I look forward to seeing you Sunday with a Bible, a smile and a positive word! RA