New Moon

Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—and I will not lie to David-that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. (Psalm 89: 35-37)

This morning when I got up the sky was still dark but it was perfectly clear--an amazing feat considering the snow storm we had all day yesterday and into the night. And, hanging in the middle of the sky was a beautiful crescent moon. I wanted to take a picture--the clean white snow, the midnight blue sky, and the bone-white moon.

So naturally when I did my Bible search I looked up "moon," and came across this psalm. I will tell you I didn't really pay attention to anything except "the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." I gave the sentence for context.

But I just love what this verse says about the moon. Because what does the moon witness by its very light? The sun. The moon is just a rock, pitted and dead. But when the sun's light shines onto it, it shines brightly enough to light up the earth. The light is nowhere near as bright as the sun itself, but is beautiful and illuminating all the same.

And so it is with us, isn't it? We are called to reflect the Son's glory and be a light to all peoples. When we use our talents, when we extend a hand of love and mercy, we are reflecting God's grace, and He shines out of our very actions.

When you think of the moon you know that it waxes and wanes, from a beautiful full moon to a tiny sliver. I believe that this also is reflective of our personalities... some days I feel much, much more in tune with God than others. Remember that the moon is still the same size and shape all the time. But what happens is that the Earth gets in the way of the sun, so that only some of the sun's light can shine through. Does this remind you of your own life at all? It sure does remind me of mine. Far too often I let the things of this world stand between myself and Jesus, and I do not reflect His love, his grace, or his mercy to others.

This is why we are called to be in the world, but not of it. To stand gently aside from the things of this world which would obfuscate our line of sight to the Son. Because as long as we are looking to Christ, He will shine through us, even when we are not outwardly attempting anything. Just our presence will show God's hand in our lives, and we will be ouselves a silent witness to His grace and love and beauty.

So let us all be a new moon, let us separate ourselves from the world so that we may shine in full with the light of God. Amen.