On Moonlight and Sonshine

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!” 

Matthew 5:14-16a, The Message

I want to return to my obsession with the moon for a moment. I love taking pictures of the moon in its various phases, especially with my camera that has a 60x zoom (I don't know what that means, except that it REALLY zooms). Certainly, the full moon is beautiful and awesome. But so is the crescent moon, the half-moon, and all the other phases. The new moon, while not very photogenic (maybe because you can't see it), still allows the stars to take center stage. The other day I came out of church after the early service, and I was greeted by a crystal-clear blue sky... and an amazingly prominent half moon.

The moon is pretty cool. You should definitely spend more time looking at it.

Of course, the light that the moon shines isn't its own light. It is simply reflecting the light of the sun. That becomes a metaphor for you and me: When Jesus says that we are the light of the world, and that we are to let our light shine, he's really telling us that we are to reflect HIS light in the world around us. The light we shine is the light of the gospel, pointing others to the amazing grace of God.

Something else about the moon: the reason we don't always see the moon at its fullest is because the earth gets in the way. The earth gets between the moon and the sun, and casts a shadow across parts of the moon.

So, back to the metaphor: What is it that prevents us from shining the light of Christ at its fullest? What gets between us and Jesus, that casts a shadow on the light we shine?

Sometimes we let the worries of the world cast a shadow on the light we shine. Sometimes the way we treat others casts a shadow on the light we shine. Sometimes the words we say casts a shadow on the light we shine. I'm sure you can think of other ways that we cast a shadow on the light we shine.

Look, I know that metaphor begins to fall apart if we take it too far. After all, the reason the moon goes through its phases has to do with the God-ordained orbit of the moon and the revolution of the earth.

But you and I are ordained by God to let our light shine. All of it.

I still love the moon in all its phases. So here's what I encourage you to do when you see a less-than-full moon: Praise God for its beauty. Then ask yourself, “Am I shining all the light I can shine? Or is something casting a shadow on the light of Christ in me?”

As Jesus said, “Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – Shine!”