There is an interesting piece of Scripture found in the Creation story. On the fourth day, when God was creating the sun and the moon, “God made the two great lights –the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night…” (Genesis 1: 16, NRSV).
According to our scientists, this passage of Scripture is inaccurate because the lesser light, or the moon, is not actually a “light” of its own. But I think that this passage is very accurate. Our scientists are not necessarily wrong; they are just missing the important point. What we scientifically know today about the sun and the moon is this: the sun is the source of all light on the earth. It is ultimately the light of the world. The moon; however, also acts like a light only when it is in such a position that it turns its face towards the sun, and nothing is blocking it. In other words, the moon acts like a light when there is nothing standing between it and the sun. The earth itself sometimes acts like a barrier between the two, which are separated by a large distance. But when the earth is not in the way, and the moon is facing the sun, the light of the sun covers the face of the moon, illuminating it, and it acts as a light in the darkness.
Jesus said in John 8: 12 that He is the light of the world. He promises that whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. He is the great light. And He has also asked us to shine. He tells us that we are the light of the world:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone on the house. In the same way, let your light shine before all men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5: 14-16, NIV).
God put a parallel physical truth in place on day four to help us understand this amazing spiritual truth today. Jesus is the greater light, much like the sun. Ultimately He is the true light of the world, the source of all light in the Universe. And He has asked us to be the lesser light for Him here on the earth.
We have no light in and of ourselves. We are the lesser light. We need to take a lesson from the moon. We need to put ourselves in such a position that we can turn our faces to Jesus Christ. We need to make sure that nothing is blocking us; nothing is standing in-between God and us. We need to make sure that we put God as such a priority in our lives that nothing… not the earth… not sin… nothing can get in the way. And when we do that, His glory and His light will shine on our faces and illuminate this dark world.
