A Glorious Dawn

What do you see when you stand with your face to the sun? You see only the glorious light and not your shadow. As Easter draws near, we rejoice in the glorious light of Jesus the Son’s resurrection, but may we also pause to remember the shadow of the Cross.

As I immersed myself in the enormity of Christ’s work on the cross in my book, The Darkness and The Dawn,I recalled again the story of the late, great preacherDr. Donald Barnhouse.

The man lost his wife while she was in her thirties. He braced himself to raise three children alone. Grieving as he drove to her memorial service with his children in the backseat, Dr. Barnhouse watched a truck pass by—and its shadow cover—their car. He asked his twelve-year-old daughter if she’d rather be run over by the truck or its shadow. She guessed the shadow because it couldn’t hurt her. “Your mother has not been run over by death,”he replied, “but by the shadow of death.”

Ultimately we as believers will face death (unless we experience firsthand Christ’s coming in the clouds for His bride). Yet because Christ faced death alone, we never will have to do the same. Christ has overcome death! And because of His triumph, though we walk in the wilderness we drink from the real oasis. Eternal life with our Savior is far from a mirage. It is a promise. Even as we pass beneath the shadow of death, before us blazes a glorious dawn—the light of the Resurrection.

About the Contributors

Charles R. Swindoll

Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word and His grace. A pastor at heart, Chuck has served as the founder and senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. His leadership as president and now Chancellor Emeritus of Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation for ministry. Chuck and his wife Cynthia, have four grown children, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.