Consider the moon. It graces the night sky like a lovely, enchanting work of art. Men propose marriage under its radiance. Poets and song-writers honor it with prose and crooning. Maidens swoon and nursery rhyme characters dance in its silvery light.
Romance aside, the moon is just a chunk of rock. It has no light of its own, no ability to shine; it can only reflect the light of the sun. Christians are like that. They have no glory of their own, no innate ability to shine. They can only reflect the glory of God.
The moon is best seen at night. That is when it shines the brightest. It can sometimes be seen in full daylight – but just barely. It looks then like a faint, nearly round or crescent-shaped white cloud, not like the moon of the night, which sends its radiant glow to the earth below. There is a reason we cannot see the full reflection of the moon in the day time. It is not that the moon doesn’t reflect the sunlight in the daytime. Unless blocked by clouds or the earth itself, it still continues to send the same amount of reflected light to earth. However, the light of the sun itself is so bright in the daytime that it absorbs the light the moon is reflecting and we are not able to distinguish the moonlight from the sunlight.
Christians don’t have seasons to shine, nor waxing and waning. We should not allow clouds or this world to disrupt the reflection. Now, while we are still living in this dark world, is our time to shine fully. The day will come when the Son will shine so brightly for all to see that our own reflection of His glory will hardly be visible – it will be fully absorbed in His own glory. Now is the time…now is the time for us to shine for Him!
Matthew 5:14 - 16, NASB
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
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ahhh, this is so true. I enjoyed reading this!
Now when I look at the moon I will be reminded of Brighter Glory!!!
I hope I can reflect His light daily!
