Now that this post is FINALLY completed, I must say that the walk mentioned below was now about 2 weeks ago. I hope its message means as much to you reading it as it did to me writing.
As I was finishing up my walk this morning, it was late enough that the sun had risen and was shining bright, yet the moon had not yet set. Seeing this reminded me of a bit of science from my childhood days in school. While the moon governs the skies throughout the night it does not within itself have the power to emit light. The only light that it emits is the light which it reflects off of the Sun.
As I considered this, two different, yet just as amazing ideas came to mind.
- The Sun is Christ, the SON. The Moon is each one of us.
- No matter how dark the night of our situation or circumstances, the presence of the Son is still with us even though we can’t see or feel His presence.
Let’s dig a little deeper into each one of these, starting with the first.
To begin, let’s look at the scriptures:
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5
[12] When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
We have always understood and believed the passage in John 1 to be a direct reference to Christ. Then, in John 8, Jesus in His own words confirmed our beliefs to be true and correct. He is “the Light of the World.” So if He is the spiritual “Light of the World”, what is the natural, physical light of the world? There is one simple and obvious answer, “The Sun.”
Let’s consider the second portion of this statement. Again, let’s see what the scripture says
[14] “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
In the passage in Matthew is Jesus speaking, and just as He had identified himself as “The Light of the World” in John 8, He does the same for the disciples. In doing so He is doing the same for each and everyone who believes in Him. In case you didn’t realize it, that means you and me.
That brings me to ask 2 questions. What is our purpose as this light? Where does our light come from?
The answer to the first question is right there in verse 16 of Matthew 5.
“…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
In short, we are to turn others towards Him through our good deeds so they can Glorify the Father.
To answer the second, let us look at another passage.
‘ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ‘John 15:5
Specifically look at that last phrase. “apart from me you can do nothing.”
Like the moon, the only thing that we have to give is what He gives us. Our only light is to be a reflection of the good that He did when He was among us. The only power we have to accomplish this is by His Spirit which now resides within us.
So the next time you see the sun or gaze at the moon I hope you will take a moment and say a short prayer of praise and gratitude for who He is and who we are because of who He is.
Stay tuned for my next post where we will look into the idea of his everpresence even when we don’t see or feel him directly.