Let your light shine before men. (Matthew 5:16)
The moon is a wonderful picture of the Christian. As you know, the moon generates no light of its own, but rather reflects the light of the sun. Christians also have no light of their own; apart from the Spirit of God, there is no good thing within us (Romans 7:18). Therefore Christian believers are to reflect the light of the Son. Read on and be encouraged today!
We live in a very dark world that desperately needs to see light. To be sure, God has provided natural light to all humanity, which is needed to sustain physical life, but there is also the supernatural light that God gives to all His adopted children, which is needed to sustain eternal life. Jesus is the Light of the world; when we are in Christ, we are given the great privilege and the responsiblity to reflect His light for all the world to see.
But we must beware of two cosmic conditions which could block His light from those who need to see it. Both of these conditions cause a condition I call the Believer’s Blackout. The first condition is a solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, blocking the light of the sun. This is the picture of the Christian who gets in the way of God by shouting, “Look at me and all I have done!” This person is building a monument to man’s glory, not God’s glory, and is no longer shining the reflected light of the Son. As the moon is the lesser light, we must remember that we too are the lesser light.
The second condition is the lunar eclipse, which occurs when the world (earth) comes between the sun and the moon, blocking the light of the sun and causing the moon to reflect no light. This is known as worldliness. When the cares of this world capture our hearts and we become bogged down with the things of this world, we no longer reflect the light of the Son.
If we are going to be “the moon” — the reflectors of light that God intends us to be — and avoid the Believer’s Blackout, we must keep our focus directly on the Son. By fixing our eyes on the Author and Perfecter of our faith, we will keep ourselves in position to reflect His light into a dark world that desperately needs Jesus.
Let me offer you a final word of encouragement. Remember that we are all different; we simply need to be the person God intends us to be and not try to be someone else. In being yourself when reflecting the light of Jesus, if you make some waves along the way, don’t worry about it or let that water down your witness. The moon causes waves all the time! Be the moon and reflect the Son, and remember that what the moon is to the physical world, you are to the spiritual world.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 