Okay, I confess, I am a “wonderholic.” Call it what you will, mushy sentimentalism, hopeless romanticism, mindless preoccupation...I prefer to call it child-like wonder. Long ago, I made a choice to put my faith and trust in the Word of God as the basis for all truth. I accept it at face value and it shapes my world view and my outlook on life. I don’t need proof in the physical realm, because God has done his greatest work in my heart and soul. I know He is real because He is at work in my life on a daily basis. But when He puts on a show like He did last night, I am struck with wonder, just like a child in awe of His amazing artistic power and prowess. A couple of days ago, I heard that there was going to be a total lunar eclipse, a fairly rare event, but the fact that it was going to fall on the Winter Solstice made it a first in the last 372 years. The fact that it would be visible over most of the northern hemisphere was also something that intrigued me. On my way home from a hospital visit in Joplin, I saw the full moon rise in all of its splendor and I was struck with its beauty. I decided that I wanted to see the eclipse, so when I got home, I looked up the timing of the event. It was to begin at 12:35 AM…..OK, did I really want to see it that bad? So I made one concession to the fact that I am no longer a teenager. I went to bed at the regular time and set my alarm for 12:20 AM. When it went off, I got up and got dressed and made my way down to the Honey Creek Landing so that I could get a good view of the moon over the lake. It was a gorgeous night. The lake was calm and the temperature was in the mid 50’s. The sky was clear and as the moon progressed into darkness, the stars shone even more brightly. I was struck by the beauty of the scene; The lights of the bridge reflecting off the water, Christmas lights from the houses on the shore twinkling in the distance, and the mist rising up off the lake in the cool darkness. Even though I was alone, it struck me that others all over the country were looking at the same spectacle that I was. We were sharing a moment of wonder over God’s majestic handiwork. I stood there for an hour and a half in awe of what I was seeing and experiencing. As the light of the moon came close to being completely eclipsed, another image began to appear, a brownish, red reflection of the earth that became more evident as the sunlight reflecting off the moon was blocked from view. It was a beautiful sight, but looking back on it this morning, I can see a faith lesson to be learned from last night’s majestic show in the heavens. When Jesus proclaimed that we are the light of the world, the light that He spoke of was very similar to the radiant light of the full moon. The moon itself produces no light. The light that we see is simply a reflection of the light from the sun. In the same way, the light that shines from the life of a believer is light that is simply the reflection of the Light of Christ. An eclipse happens when the earth in it’s rotation around the sun, passes between the Sun and the moon. The eclipse gives us a pretty clear picture of what takes place when a Christian allows the world to come between him and Christ. Before long, the Light of Christ is completely covered up and what becomes visible in the life of the Christian is a reflection of the world. These rare but spectacular events should be taken as a reminder from God not to let the world get in the way of our testimony for Christ. Fortunately, the eclipse doesn’t last for long. After only a few minutes of darkness, the light became visible again and progressed slowly, but deliberately back to its full strength. Ultimately, the message of Ps. 19:1 was confirmed to be true. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork,” and like a child, I still look on in wonder.
No comments:
Post a Comment