Be the Moon

Odd title? I thought so too the first time I saw it on a young man's t-shirt at church, until I really gave it some thought and God opened my heart and mind to the wisdom of those 3 little words.

Think about it...what would you say about the moon? It's bright, it lights the world, it's huge, it stands out easily against the rest of the stars and darkness of the heavens, and oh yeah...it can't make it's own light. It can only reflect a bigger, brighter, more important star...the sun.
Think about it...what would you say about who we're supposed to be in Christ? We're supposed to be a shining light, we are supposed to enlighten the world, we're part of a huge family, we're supposed to stand out easily against the rest of the world and be a light that shines in the darkness, and oh yeah...we don't create our own light. We only reflect a bigger, brighter, more important Star...the Son.

Acts 4 tells the story of the first church of believers, once called The Way. They were the apostles going out into the world to share the good news of Jesus. It says that when they prayed together, that place where they prayed shook! They preached with freedom, boldness and courage. They were of one heart and one mind. They shared all they had to see God's Kingdom furthered. It also says great grace, kindness, favor and goodwill rested richly upon them all. It continues saying there were NO needy among them. Talk about standing out in the darkness of that time! They got people's attention by the way they lived, but not for their own glory and honor. They let the Holy Spirit be their star to guide them. They decided to "be the moon".
We too, can live this way. God gives us so much every single day, and all he asks in return is our devotion to only Him and to love others. We are still supposed to pray together, share the gospel, use the freedoms given to us in this country, be bold and courageous in standing up for our principles knowing they're based on God's 10 Commandments, and we are to be in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is how we can repay God for His blessings. We can direct the focus to Him and not take credit when people notice our efforts. When people notice our lives are more together, more at peace, more confident, or full of blessed assurances, it's our job to reflect God's light to shine on their path so they can see through the darkness; not to pretend it's all us and our worldly wisdom.

The next time you're with someone hurting, someone who needs a friend, someone who seems like they don't know the way out of the box they're stuck in...Be the Moon!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

This world seems so full of darkness sometimes. Every night we see one hour of
news and we're reminded of how blessed we are because of your love and protection. It makes
me sad to think of how many people don't know you. They go through life alone, hurting,
not knowing how to make it stop. Please allow us to Be the Moon for you. We pray that you
continue to shine your light on our lives, but also we pray that you would show us how to
reflect that light so that others may see their way back to the narrow path that leads to you. We
don't need nor want the credit for doing what we should be doing anyway. We know we're
blessed, and we're your servants here on earth to bless others you bring near to us. Thank you
for the opportunity to serve You and your people.