“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
- Matthew 5:16
Last night, my human and I were sitting out on the porch.
Well… he was sitting.
I was doing important business… sniffing around looking for the suspicious critter that keeps leaving messages by the flower bed.
The night was still, and the moon was hanging up there big and bright over the trees.
I noticed my human just staring at it quietly.
He does that sometimes.
He stops moving and starts contemplating.
Dogs usually stop moving only if bacon (or some other treat) is involved.
After a while he took a deep breath and sighed…
“Buddy, we should be like the moon reflecting the Son into a dark world.”
Now I’m just a dog, but that one stuck with me deeper than any lake I’ve ever swam in.
See, the moon looks bright, but it doesn’t make its own light.
It just reflects the sun.
And that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?
Folks see the moon because the sun shines on it.
I got to thinking about that while lying there on the cool porch boards.
Sometimes I want attention for myself.
I’ll strut around proud as can be when I finally chase off the delivery truck or bark at absolutely nothing in the woods.
But my human says Christians aren’t supposed to point folks toward themselves. They’re supposed to point them toward Jesus.
Matthew 5 says that we’re the light of the world. Not because we glow on our own, but because His light shines on us and through us.
That means when my human is patient with difficult people, he’s reflecting the Son.
When he prays for somebody hurting, he’s reflecting the Son.
When he forgives instead of growls, reflects hope instead of fear, and kindness instead of bitterness… well, that light shines in dark places.
John 1:5 says “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Some days the world feels mighty dark.
Angry people.
Hurting people.
Lonely people.
Folks wandering around like lost pups in the rain.
Now I’ve noticed something else about the moon…
The darker the night gets, the brighter it seems to shine.
And maybe the reason that God leaves us here is so somebody can look in the darkness and see a little reflection of Jesus.
But even a small reflection of Jesus can light the path for somebody searching for hope.
I guess that’s what I want too.
And maybe that’s the lesson this old dog needs.
I don’t have to create the light.
I just need to stay close enough to the Son so His light reflects off me.
That’s plenty enough to brighten even the darkest night.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
