Peter's shadow
Does your presence cause people to sense something different about you, asks Eric Gaudion
It was an amazing outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The leaders of the first Christians were seeing dramatic signs and wonders, healings and miracles. People were bringing their sick out into the streets and laying them down on mats in the hope of the mercy and power of God. Why? Because they hoped Peter’s shadow might pass over them (Acts 5:15).
This was not magic – there was an earlier moment when a sick woman thought she would only have to get close enough to Jesus to touch the hem of his garment to be healed – and she was right. It was not a case of magic in the material, but proximity to God’s power. Getting close to Jesus meant approaching the anointing he carried. The woman’s faith made up for the rest and she was healed.
With Peter’s shadow, it was a symbol of his presence and his anointing, received at Pentecost. Getting close to Peter meant sensing there was something different about him. Proximity to power in his case is all the more amazing when we recall how faulty Peter’s discipleship had been. Just weeks before he denied the Lord, “I don’t know the man!” (Matthew 26:74).
Peter was hasty and impetuous, and had even received a direct rebuke from the Lord: “You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns,” (Matthew 16:23). Yet now, in Acts 5, even his shadow is being used by God to bring healing and blessing to many.
What kind of shadow are you casting? Does your presence cause people to sense something different about us? Paul knew something of this phenomenon too when he said that God uses believers ‘to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere’ (2 Corinthians 2:14).
How can we cast a more effective shadow as we pass through our families, churches and communities?
The strength of a shadow depends completely on the power of the light creating it. When Peter, James and John saw the brilliant light shining through Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration the Bible says that they were ‘overshadowed’ by the cloud of God’s presence. A powerful revelation of the glory of Christ led directly to a deeper shadow, in which the disciples also heard the voice of God.
To cast a shadow you need a strong light source, and the stronger the light the deeper the shadow. If we want to cast a powerful and effective shadow we need to live in the light of Christ, daily and deeply.
Charles Finney was a 19th century evangelist who knew the light of Christ, casting a long shadow of influence wherever he went. During a trip to New York in 1826, he visited a cotton factory where his brother-in-law was superintendent. As Finney passed among the workers, he noticed several of them watching him and speaking among themselves. As he approached them, they became more agitated. When he was about ten feet away, one woman sank to the ground and burst into tears. Soon others were sobbing, overcome with conviction of their sin.
This outpouring of the Spirit spread rapidly throughout the building until the entire factory became aware of God’s presence. The owner, an unbeliever, realised God was at work and temporarily closed the plant. He asked Finney to preach to his employees and tell them how they might find peace for their souls.
Finney had not spoken to any of them. He had simply entered the factory. God’s powerful presence in Finney’s life had been too overwhelming to ignore.
Does the light of Christ in us impact the needs of those we will meet today? Does our presence – our shadow – let the Holy Spirit work in a needy world?
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.