What is a shadow?

What is a shadow? Isn’t it just a blockage of light?

Does a shadow have life, a creator, a purpose, thinking? No. It is just the obstruction of light. It is just a dark spot, a blockage of light.

How do we get rid of shadows? Light!

In The Epistle of James we read, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”¹

Would the ‘Father of lights’, who begat us, give us darkness? Wouldn’t that be impossible as the Light that has no ‘shadow of turning’?

Then where do these shadows of thought, darkness come from? And are they a part of us? NO!  They are only misconceptions, errors in thought. These shadows of thought are doubt, fear, depression, even sickness. They are dark spots in our thought, the shadows of misconception.

How can we get rid of these shadows of thought, these errors, misconceptions? They are removed ‘with the word of truth’. This Truth is God and His Creation, Man. The perfect Man of God’s creation, His image and likeness, as spoken of in the very first book of the Holy Bible, Genesis, in the very first Chapter.  It states, “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them…”²

We are the image and likeness of this ‘Father of lights’. As the image and likeness of God, we are that ‘firstfruits of His creatures’, spoken of in James.

Therefore we, as the blessed of God cannot be in a shadow, create a shadow, or believe in shadow thinking. We can only be the image and likeness of the Light that has no shadow of turning. We cannot be fooled by fear, doubt, even sickness! Why? Because God cannot be sick and we are His image and likeness, therefore we cannot be sick. Sickness is another shadow of belief, a belief of life in matter instead of an immortal image and likeness of Life, God.

How do we get a better understanding of this and remove these shadows of thought?

By turning to our Holy Bible we further gain knowledge of the Who and What that we are as His image and likeness. We gain a better understanding through prayer, watching, working, gratitude, rejoicing, and loving that we are the children of this ‘Father of lights’. This removes all the shadow thinking and dark illusions.

By learning more about this ‘Father of lights’; by learning more about What God is and then thereby Who and What we are as His image and likeness. This work breaks forward in a higher Light of understanding. This work brings with it a brighter view of God and Who we are. This work heals us from all the darkness and reveals Life as God, as the Light, Life, Truth, and Love, the Creator of all Being, and that Divine.

If our lives seem to be filled with dark shadows, depression, sickness, lack, what we need more of is Light. The light of better understanding, clearer views, deeper consecrated lives.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, states in her main works, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “As light destroys darkness and in the place of darkness all is light, so [in absolute Science] Soul , or God is the only truth-giver to man.”³ 

Remember the ‘perfect gifts’? Those perfect gifts told to us in James? They are God’s Love for us and the Truth that He gives to us. These truths are what reveal to us a better understanding of our relationship to God, with God, and the What and Who that we are as God’s image and likeness. This line of light, Truth, destroys the darkness of the fear shadows, sick shadow thoughts, doubting and depressed shadows. With this Light of Truth the darkness gives place to the Light. We become free from these dark shadows and feel God’s healing presence, His Light of Love.

This work reveals to us that the Light is the permanent FIXTURE and the shadows are the dim, fleeting phantoms of misconception.

Let us turn to our Light and see all of the shadows disappear. We will be able to see the Who and What that we are as the children of the ‘Father of lights’ better if we look to the Light and turn from all the darkness of doubt, fear, and even sin.

This is a gift to us. ‘…the perfect gift’ to us, His ‘firstfruits.

Gentle hugs


1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible James 1vss. 17, 18
2 ibid Genesis 1 vss. 26-28
3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 72 line 10