Substance/shadow

Contextual substance of Man is the glory of God indwelling as Shekina glory that filled the tabernacle when it was set up in the wilderness. By ourselves what are we? As Pascal would say we are thinking reeds, and as transient as grass. Will not a Christian on seeing a blade of grass with a drop of dew in the morning Sun winking think of God’ promise? The dew has become a symbol.
A symbol works because of contextual substance.
We are the shadow and He is the Substance. Yet because of the fact that we bear the breath of God we ourselves become the substance too. Our validity is confirmed by our context with Him.
Nature declares the glory of God not because it is His mirror image but in that we are created in His image.
benny