Life in someone else's shadow...

  November 29, 2011, Richland County, Wisconsin... the only daughter of Joseph Stalin died. Quoting from a Time.com article marking the passing of LANA PETERS:

Lana Peters

In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal in 2010, Peters revealed the psychological impact of some of the cruelty her father had inflicted upon her. “He was a very simple man. Very rude. Very cruel,” she said. “He broke my life.” [...]

“Wherever I go,” she said [...], “here, or Switzerland, or India, or wherever. Australia. Some island. I will always be a political prisoner of my father’s name.”

I wish that it had been different for her; I would like to think that she found a life out from under what had to have been a long, oppressive shadow.

A world without God makes it hard. (1 John 5:19) When someone looks at us and sees a people group, a lineage, a family name... we get pigeonholed by the uneducated perceptions of others. When someone constrains us to not "be all that we can be", we tend to acquiesce. The more time spent living in someone else's shadow, the harder it becomes to get out from under it.

Truth be told, a lot of us seem unable or unwilling to do so. The improper control that others hold over us casts a pall over our lives and compromises our future. Inertia and fear immobilize us, even in potentially dangerous situations. If we are not careful, we find ourselves almost unconsciously giving up. We make excuses for the ones that define their relationship with us by the degree of control that they maintain over us.

This is a theme with nearly infinite variations. But, I think that there are two underlying principles that ought to matter to everyone:

• the moral obligation of each individual to be free.
• the possibility of the grace of God.

Who are we afraid of? Whose control do we refuse to get out from under? We feel insulated, protected... "if I just do what I am told, everything will be alright." That's how an altar boy might think; how an abused spouse or child might think; how a member of a cult or a legalistic church might think.

I get that some are so damaged that they cannot begin to visualize a way out. That said, I fear that we all harbor a certain propensity for the convenience of dependence. It's an addictive comfort zone. We don't have to think so much through for ourselves. The status quo becomes the path of least resistance; peer pressure trumps intellectual freedom. If things turn out badly, we delude ourselves that we can shift the blame to others.

Those who are not "being all that they can be" in Jesus Christ because of someone else, need to re-visit Romans 14:12... “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Sorry... but none of our reasons for not being everything God intended for us to be are valid. We are granted a life that in turn is to be offered back to Him in holy service. Finding a way out from under the shadows is not just about quality of life... it is about fulfilling our deepest obligation to God.

It is possible, you know.

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians 1:13)

Hopelessness characterizes many a life lived in the shadow of another... but regardless of how dark or oppressive it may be... God's power to liberate is always greater. What would our lives be like if they were purely and freely lived... in the shadow of the Almighty?

Maybe we underestimate the power of the Gospel. God's invitation is universal... that in itself should raise our hopes about the real possibility of the grace of God in our own hearts. In some cases an almost irrational amount of courage is needed to break free... to allow God to free us. If only we could see who awaits us on the other side!

Maybe we do not fully appreciate the value that God has placed on each individual soul... how important it is to Him and everyone around us to not waste it on anything or anyone but God. When we get to that place of joyful dependence on Him, that is when we become what we ought to be and begin to be a blessing to others.

Maybe we are afraid of that kind of freedom and direct responsibility. I mean, now who do we blame if things go wrong? Now we can't be so lazy anymore... we have to think things through for ourselves... just us, God and an open Bible.

Maybe in your case, God has simply not revealed to you yet the possibility of grace. I cannot do that for Him... but I can certainly vouch for its forgiveness, its deep consolation and its power to get us out from under the shadows and walking in the light.

Yes... light. ...God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”... 1Jn 1:5. Walking there is about protection, direction, comunion and joy. But plan ahead, though... you might want to bring along a pair of sunglasses... even in the "shadow" of the Almighty, things stay pretty bright!

“1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress:

my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalms 91:1-2)