I have returned from a beautiful, grace-filled pilgrimage, walking in the footsteps of St. Paul’s second missionary journey. In the near future, I hope to bring you, my dear reader, along on some of the adventures and places we visited.
The pilgrimage included a three-day cruise to a few of the Greek Isles. The last night of the cruise, I was walking around the upper decks of the ship, enjoying solitude as there was no one else around. I was mesmerized while looking at the almost full moon, seeing the light it produced on the Aegean Sea. At one point, the moonlight lit up a wider area on the water, which fascinated me even more. It was a special time gazing on the moon and water while being in God’s presence as His beloved, and in oneness.
In Godlike fashion, a few days later I saw a devotion that mentioned how both the sun and the moon give light, but the moon merely reflects the sun’s light and shines just a fraction of it into the world. I had never thought about how the moon has no light of its own; instead the moon’s surface of craters, lava flows, and rocky debris reflects the beautiful sunlight.
Sailing the same water as St. Paul did, it seems appropriate to reflect on this passage that recounts his conversion story. You might recall that Paul, who was originally known as Saul, was a great persecutor of Christians before he met the Lord. He shared with King Agrippa:
“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” –Acts 26:12-18 (NIV)
Paul had a powerful encounter with Jesus that involved an extremely bright light, more brilliant than the sun, which immediately changed the trajectory of his life. Jesus told him that his life mission would now be to bring the good news of salvation through belief in Jesus to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. Paul, with the light of Jesus working in him, would open the eyes of the Gentiles, allowing them to be brought from darkness into the light. He went from being the greatest of persecutors of Christians to one of the greatest missionary disciples.
Jesus is the light of the world, being like the sun in our lives. We, like Paul, are like the moon having no light of our own. By believing in Jesus and walking with the Spirit, we become witnesses and reflectors of Jesus’ light to others sharing a fraction of the true light.
Be encouraged this week to…
…reflect on the spiritual lessons we learn from the moon and sun.
…thank God for your personal conversion story.
…pray your light will spread and shine on more people.
…ask for more opportunities to present in your life to reflect Jesus’ light.
Whenever you look at the moon, may it be a reminder to you, too, that its light is a fraction of the sun’s light, as it is a witness to the light. May our lives be the same as we merely reflect the light of Jesus through our faith in Him and be reflectors of Christ’s light to others through our love and actions.
Photo courtesy of Steve Dorman under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0)
REFLECTION:
What is one way you, like the moon, can reflect the light of Jesus in the darkness?
When have you encountered Jesus as a bright light in your spiritual journey?
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 (NIV)
