The Son Now Casts the Shadows

Michael E. Wood

September 18-19, 2012

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

What began as a simple thought concerning the goodness and pleasure of God to give us that which we have need of to serve Him with joy, was expanded upon while contemplating how He might work in the lives of others.

When I visit those whom the Lord has appointed to my care in the assisted living facilities, there are times when I know well in advance what I will be sharing from His word and believe it to be that which He has in mind.  There are other times that I have no idea until I get there. And then there are times that He gives to me that which will be the focus shortly before I head out.

God is faithful to bring His Word to bear by His Spirit. Some times I can be distracted by focusing more on what I perceive to be the duties that I have been called to rather than the One who has not only called but prepares my heart and sends me forth.

The first stanza of the following poem is an expression of that line of thought and was written on the 18^th of September.   On the 19^th, as I sat out on our balcony with the sun rising in the early morning, I noticed how the shadow of the leaves of a large oak could be seen on the screen directly in my view. Suddenly the shadows began to move and the rest of the poem flowed from there as the Spirit of the Lord brought the passage from John 3 to mind in preparation for the visit that I would be making in a short time.

My original thought had been to share a passage from the book of 1^st Peter as an encouragement to a dear saint in her later years, but upon arrival at the facility we found that another one of the residents came outside where we were meeting in the cool of the morning with a slight breeze blowing.  Ann smiled as I began to speak of the new birth and the way in which the Spirit of God works as the other resident sat nearby listening in.

How oft we in the quagmire of our duties lose the sight

Of the power and the glory and the beauty of Thy might

For when our focus stumbles in the things we think or do

We forget that freely given are the things that pleaseth You.

The Son now casts the shadows through His trees upon the ground

And sows the seeds of faith by grace that He alone be found

To be the only Savior sent from God to be believed.

He is the only answer to our sin and to our need.

Through shadows cast You show the movement of Your Spirit here

That we may know Your presence and then walk with godly fear

With hope in the assurance that by faith You will then use

Our lives a living sacrifice, that others may peruse

The mighty wonders of Your grace through which You will then save

All those whom You appointed by the Son of whom You gave

To take our place, as wrath was spent on him instead of us

That all may know that Christ is He who is all glorious!

“Without books a man may learn much by keeping his eyes open…Every flower is waiting to teach you…Sermons glisten in the morning on every blade of grass, and homilies fly by you as the sere leaves fall from every tree. A forest is a library, a cornfield is a volume of philosophy, the rock is a history, and the river at its base a poem. Go, thou who hast eyes opened, and find lessons of wisdom everywhere, in heaven above, in the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth. Books are poor things compared with these.” C.H.Spurgeon,” Lectures to My Students”