The True Light

The following image was taken yesterday, July 12th, 2022, in front of my house in Argyle, Texas at 11:37 P.M.

One might think upon a casual glance that the image is of the midday sun. But they would be wrong. Here is the full image taken by my iPhone.

And even here, it is not clear the time of day, since the chimney on the house across the street is still clearly visible. So, here is one more for perspective’s sake.

Even here, while the night sky seems incredibly brighter than it should be at almost midnight, you can clearly see the darkness surrounding the houses and the trees, and the house illumination is from a street lamp not far away.

It’s a curious thing, and today I was able to put my thoughts in order to share a simple truth about the moon and the sun, and us and the Son.

The fact of the matter is that the moon does not produce light of any kind. The only reason we even know of its existence is from the moon’s illumination by our sun. The other side of the gigantic orb in the sky is completely void of light, from which we get the phrase, “the dark side of the moon.”

We could say the moon is defined by its darkness. Yet, clearly this dark globe has influence on our planet and here are just a few examples:

• Because the earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees we have seasons, and the moon helps keep this tilt mostly stable, the moon acting as a guide while the earth travels around the sun
• The moon’s pull on the earth causes the earth’s crust to rise, and ponds, lakes, rivers and oceans to experience tides effecting atmospheric events, like rain and wind.
• Without the moon our days would last only 8 hours instead of 24 altering patterns of awakeness, sleep, mating and hunger.

The point of all this fact-checking is that the true source of light in our world is the sun. Making the moon simply a mirror of a much larger, much more powerful, light giving source… the Sun.

About now, you might be asking, “What does all this have to do with us and the Son?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Let me begin with the words of John the Apostle, in The Gospel of John, translated by J.B. Philips.

“At the beginning God expressed Himself. That personal expression, that Word, was with God and was God, and He existed with God from the beginning. All the creation took place through Him, and none took place without Him. In Him appeared life and this life was the LIGHT of mankind. The LIGHT still shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out.” (John 1:1-5)

John also wrote a letter while at Ephesus to the churches at the end of his life. Here is what he wrote there:

“Here is the message we heard Him give. God is Light, and not the faintest darkness can exist in Him… Anyone who claims to be in the light and hates his brother is, in fact, still in complete darkness.” (1 John 1:5; 2:9-10)

We don’t really need to look very hard these days to see that lost people act like lost people because they really are living in darkness. But here’s the thing…

When a person steps over the line of faith into Jesus, God plants in us the ability to become exactly like the moon! Because we know the Son, then we can be transformed from living in darkness, and live in the light as He Himself is LIGHT! In fact, we are never more like the moon than when we live in ways that bring Jesus great glory, and cause people not to SEE US… but to SEE HIM in us. Mirrors of the true light!

David instructs us on exactly how to do this: Psalm 105:1-4

“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon HIS name; make known HIS deeds among the peoples! Sing to HIM, sing praises to HIM; tell of all HIS wondrous works! Glory in HIS name; let the heart of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and HIS strength; seek His presence continually!”

Next time you look at the moon… remember the words of David!