FROM THE WORLD'S VIEW

Matthew 5:16

 

Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

As children, we can remember singing, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” In this song, it refers to our Christian light as a candle that can light up a room. Lately I’ve been thinking about our light in a whole new way – as a much larger light, one that can illuminate the entire world. In this comparison, we are going to be looking at things this way.

• The Sun: Jesus Christ

• The Moon: Christian

• The Earth: People of the World (Unbelievers)

• Darkness: Sin

• Light: Our Christian Witness

Did you know that the moon does not actually carry its own light? The reason it appears to be illuminated is because reflects the light from the sun. How cool that something just reflecting the light of the Sun can light up the entire night sky. This is the way that we as Christians should be reflecting the light of Christ. We cannot light the world on our own, but if we reflect the light of the Son, we can spread God’s light in a glorious display for the whole world to see.

There are times when we see a full moon, a gibbous moon, a half moon, or a crescent moon. It all depends on the position of the Moon and the Earth in perspective to the Sun. So it is that the light we reflect upon the world is in dependent solely on the position of Christ in our lives.

When the Moon is directly lined up with the Sun, we can see it in all of its brilliance – the Full Moon. So it is that when we as Christians are lined up with our Savior, the world can see us in all of God’s brilliance.

When the Moon turns its face slightly away from the Sun, it becomes covered by the shadow of the earth, making it gibbous. As it moves further, it becomes a half moon and then a crescent moon. So it is that when we turn away from the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, we move further into the shadow of the world, allowing sin to creep into our walk. That is when our light fades and eventually falters.

As the Moon moves back around the Earth and is once again the Sun, it begins to reflect more and more of the light from the Sun. It becomes a half moon, then a crescent moon, and finally a full moon once again. So it is with our Christian walk. As we begin to face our Savior again, we are able to light up the world with the love of Christ.

These celestial bodies have no control over the lunar cycle. They cannot decide to just stop their movement. The Lord made them the way they are for a reason. If they ceased their cycle, the world would be overtaken by a plethora of natural disasters. But unlike these bodies, we can determine our cycle. We can decide to keep our faces toward the face of God, or we can allow the world to come between us, making us just as dark as the rest of the world.

It is your choice. What does the world see when they see you? The world – or rather people in the world – can only identify us as Christians by the way we live our lives. As Christians, it is our job to tell everyone we encounter the word of salvation – reflecting the light of Christ for the whole world to see.

YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!