Lesser Light

“And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.” (Genesis 1:15 KJV)

This morning we had a full moon outside. What made it extra special was that there were no clouds to hide it, so it was obvious. I pulled out my camera and began to see if I could get a few pictures of this scene, and I played with the process until I finally got the shutter speed to slow down enough to allow for a decent exposure. Wow, for a very amateur photographer, I do not think these pictures came out half bad. The amazing thing is that this really was not about the pictures. It was the realization of what the moon was doing. It was doing the same thing that we as Christians are to do. It was giving light to an otherwise dark world. It is hung high enough in the sky that you can tell that it’s light is not of this world, yet it is a witness to those in the darkness that there is indeed a light. Matthew’s gospel reminds us that, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” (Matthew 5:14 KJV) Yet it is the humble Christian that understands very clearly that it is not our own light that is radiated. We are merely reflecting the light of a much greater light source. Not only is the lesser light a reflection of the greater light, but have you ever noticed that you can tell by the portion of the moon that is lit up which way the sun is? Likewise those who are in a dark world can tell by the way Christ reflects on his Christians which way He is. It is also amazing that, like the moon, we as Christians are placed nearer to the Earth to be able to have that gravitational pull on the rising and falling of the tide of the Earth’s oceans, or the sway of instability and absence of a foundation, that the sun at that same distance would cause these same oceans to evaporate. Notice that when He makes the new world there are no oceans (see Revelation 21:1), and that wisdom was born before the oceans (Proverbs 8:24). Still yet we must remember that if our orbit ever allowed the Earth to come between us and the greater light, we would become as dark as the planet we were placed in orbit around.

It took me a number of photo attempts to learn that the moon’s light is soft and requires an ever slowing shutter speed to obtain a proper exposure. It is much like the patience you must have with one another to properly see what the Lord is reflecting in our lives. Though when you look directly at it, you can see a glimpse of the brilliance of the light that it receives before Earth receives the reflection. It is a reminder to those who are looking at the reflected light of the brilliance of the light yet to come when the greater light arrives. A light so brilliant that it reveals everything in a very penetrating and occasionally burning manner. Even on the cloudiest of mornings, when you cannot see the greater light directly, it’s light shines so that it reveals the realness of everything around us. No matter how brilliant the lights of the cities on Earth are at night, they are but interesting panoramics to look at. They will never produce enough light to likewise reveal things on another world. The reflection of the Earth’s light is probably not even noticeable from any distance in space. It is a reminder to me that if you are to have any real, lasting, and penetrating light that is to have any real brilliance then you must look toward the creator of these lights. In surrendering to Him there is something worth trusting.

“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalms 37:5 KJV)