On the Light of the Moon

Tomorrow the moon will be full. Personally, I thought that it was full last night, but I never can really tell the difference between 29/30ths of the way full and all the way full. I'm glad somebody can.

The moon is kind of weird when you think about it. It's just this big giant ball of "moon rock," whatever that is (I'm not even going to try to explain the geology of the moon. Go read a book about it). The moon revolves around the earth in a consistent motion, hence the regular lunar cycles. Thankfully earth only has 1 of them. I'd probably be scared of them if we had 62 of them (like Jupiter).

Nevertheless, while I may not be a lunar expert, I do know one thing about the moon: it is not made of cheese. Ok, I do know another fact: it gives us light at night.

When I was a kid, I used to think that the moon was God's version of a giant nightlight (I mean, how else would all the ancient people find their way to the bathroom at night?). In other words, I thought it produced its own light, like a giant, round light bulb with a lot of craters in it (and a man who lived in inside). Now I realize, though, that my theory was incorrect. The moon does not produce its own luminosity. Instead, it merely reflects the light of the sun towards the earth. The phases of the moon (i.e. waning, waxing, full, new, etc.) and the intensity of the moon's light are determined by the moon's position in relation to the sun and the earth.

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the "light of the world." So, in a sense, we're kind of like the moon. Our job is to shine in the darkness of the world and give it light. We can help provide direction and hope for those in the darkness.

Yet, there is something we must consider. We cannot make our own "light." We cannot produce holiness. Our lives are inherently sinful and dark. Consequently, when Jesus gives us the command to light up the world, we can't do that ourselves. We have to have a source.

That source is Jesus. Just as the moon reflects the light of the Sun to a darkened world, so we as Christians must reflect the light of the Son to the world around us. And like the moon, the intensity of our brightness is determined not by how hard we try to shine, but by our orientation to Christ. We will not shine at our maximum potential unless we are fully aligned with the truth of God and his Word.

Enjoy the moon. Appreciate the light that God gives us to govern the night (see Genesis 1). And be reminded that we are called to shine in the night, too.

Be the moon. Reflect the Son.