Shadows

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.  These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ

Looking at Adam in the Garden of Eden, he didn’t really have to do much other than name animals. Look at when God cursed the land, then he said you will have to toil and labor for your food (Genesis 3:17).  You see, Adam lacked knowledge of good and evil, so God cursed everything to give him a lesson.  “You need to understand character, responsibility, and you will understand good and evil.” So we have dietary laws and regulations to show us discipline, but when God reveals his character through the Holy Spirit and gives us knowledge, then we can focus on the spiritual directly, rather than looking to physical things as parables.

Look at how Jesus taught the crowds, through the natural, but to the disciples he spoke plainly to them saying, “the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, have been revealed to you but not to them.” (Matthew 13:11)  All these things are a type and shadow that were meant for spiritual truths.  So do not worry about clean and unclean, Sabbath days, or any other regulation.  The focus is all on Jesus Christ.

So then seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and you don’t have to worry about the other stuff. He gives you the life.  Remember Jesus went hungry in the desert because “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the God.”  and “My nourishment come from doing the will of the Father.”

We do have a physical body that needs to be taken care of, but the focus is on the spiritual.  God rewarded the people who ate right because they wanted to care for the body.  It was out of love.  The trust is in God though, not the food.  So you don’t need to worry about food or clothes, money, or anything.  We’ve heard the scripture before, but it hasn’t sunk into our hearts.  The meaning has been hidden from us. God has not forsaken us, but has broken the barrier between us so that we can be together.  Heaven is so much closer than we realize.