No, I haven’t joined a cult and started to worship the moon. However, with the solar eclipse happening later today, I began to think about the significance of the moon. When the evening comes, the moon begins to provide light and direction to the Earth below it. The Psalmist writes, “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies” Psalm 148:1-4
The moon was created to reflect the light of the sun into a lost and dying world and to bring praise to God. The purpose of the moon seems to line up with the purpose of us as the children of God. We are called to reflect the light of the SON into a dark world that needs direction. Without light, the darkness can overtake the strongest of individuals and take them down a path they never planned to go. When we move away from the light and begin to do our own thing, we will ultimately fall into sin because we are blinded by the darkness. Remember, as a child of God you are called to reflect the light of Christ and help illuminate every path you walk on to provide clarity and direction for not only yourself, but everyone you encounter. The Greek translation of reflection is the word katoptrizó which means to “behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord”. As we do life with people that do not know the Lord and live in the dark daily, are we being a reflection of the son into their lives and showing them a way out or letting their darkness overtake our light.
This reminds me of Matthew 5:15 that says, “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”. Let your light shine in every area of your life if not for yourself, but for everyone you encounter. What happens though when an eclipse happens? The definition of an eclipse is “the obscuration of the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and a point on the earth”. This sounds like what happens when everything begins to go right in our lives and so we put God on the backburner. As our live are going well, we begin to act as if we do not need the son in our lives and inadvertently begin to block the light from reaching the world around us. However, many times we then get lost and stumble because our path is no longer illuminated. Just like the moon cannot produce its own light, neither can we provide our own blessing or salvation.
God has called every one of us to be a moon child. Remember, you cannot create your own light, and are powerless on your own. The SON provides light that we can then reflect for glorifying God and directing others to him. I challenge you today to seek ways every day to be a reflection instead of an eclipse. Have a great rest of the day and please be careful observing the eclipse.
God Bless,
Dr. Ronnie Phillips Jr.