Have you ever gone out at night when there was a full moon, and you could see almost as well as if it were day?

Have you ever seen the moon when it was so bright it was almost difficult to look at?

I’ve seen some pretty bright moons over my years and have always been fascinated by the night sky, but I learned something fascinating a while back about the moon.

The moon isn’t very reflective.

It has a reflectiveness rating (Albedo) of only 0.12, meaning it only reflects about 12% of the light shown on it. It is actually one of the least reflective bodies in our solar system. I heard one scientist (I can’t remember his name right now) say it’s about as reflective as an old, dirty tire.

Why does the moon appear so bright in the sky?

It isn’t because the moon is so great at reflecting the sun’s light, but rather because the sun is so bright and the moon is so close to the earth.

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says,

“You are the light of the world.”

When you first hear this, you may wonder, “Wait. I thought Jesus was the light of the world.” Yes, He is. As John 1 describes,

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5

Jesus is the light that came into the darkness. However, in the Sermon on the Mount here in Matthew 5, Jesus is telling us that we are the light of the world.

Much like the moon, we don’t generate our light in and of ourselves. Rather, we reflect the light of Christ. Also, much like the moon, the truth is that we don’t tend to reflect the light of Jesus very well.

We sin. We mistreat people. We often live like the dark world. Thankfully, the light of Christ is bright enough to shine through that.

Jesus has called us to shine the light of Christ before others. Like the moon is near the earth, we should be near those who need the light. that requires two things:

1. We get out of our houses and get to know people who don’t know Jesus.
2. We don’t hide our faith when we are with them. We live out our faith and speak freely about God.

We should be in the world, though not of it, that others may see the light of Jesus and glorify the Father.

Heavenly Father,

I confess that I do not reflect the light of Christ very well. I often see more darkness in my life than I’d like to admit. Please forgive me and help me to shine the light of Jesus to everyone around me.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.