MOONSHINE MEDITATIONS Don W. Moore I have been awestruck by the full moon as far back as I can remember.

Its beauty holds my gaze on many a night, and this mysterious sky traveler never ceases to fascinate me. I marvel at how people in vastly different cultures around the world all look up and behold the same orb hurtling through the heavens, but with very different perceptions of its meaning. And on July 20, 1969, the allure for me only increased when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, shortly after my college graduation. During the more than forty years since then I have gone night hiking under a full moon many times, first in southern California when as a youth minister I introduced young people to this rather unknown outdoor activity. (I liked to remind them that this kind of moonshine leaves no hangovers the morning after.) Later while living in Maryland I led many groups of friends on the seven mile round trip hike to Black Rock on the Appalachian Trail under a full moon, where we enjoyed sitting on the huge rock and viewing the lights of Hagerstown in the valley below. I am also inspired by the rich spiritual symbolism of the moon. I was still in high school when I became convinced that God has hidden spiritual lessons in all of his handiwork (a principle I see reflected in 1 Cor. 15:46). We discern these truths by combining study of the created wonders with meditation upon his written word. I was in college when I began to realize some of the spiritual riches to be found in the "glory of the moon" (1 Cor. 15:41). First, the lesser of earth's two luminary bodies has no light of its own. The moon can only reflect light from the sun. Likewise, we have no light of our own. We can only reflect light from the Son of God, who came to earth to be the light of the world (John 1:4-9). Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12 NIV). He also said, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light" (John 12:35-36 NIV). So it is by putting our trust in Jesus and following him that we reflect the light. Jesus said, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5 NIV). Now his followers have the responsibility to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:14-16). The Son of God holds us accountable for maintaining our gaze upon him in such a way that no part of our life will be in darknessthat our entire being will reflect the light of his truth and life (Luke 11:34-36). This is an ongoing process, alluded to by Paul when he says, "17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[1] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17-18 NIV).

The [1] after reflect leads to a footnote in the New International Version which indicates that the Greek word there can also be translated as contemplate. The verb katoptrizomenoi is a rare one, and in the middle voice it can mean either "to behold oneself in a mirror" or "to serve as a mirror"that is, "to reflect." Being transformed through beholding Gods glory is valid biblically, and that is how various translations (e.g. KJV, NKJV, RSV) render the verb here. But reflecting Gods glory to those around us by allowing the Spirit of the Lord to control our lives is also valid biblically, and that is how other translations, including the NIV, render the word here. (If you want to know why I side with the latter choice, used in the NIV, see the discussion on verse 18 in the IVP New Testament Commentaries.) We reflect the glory of God only to the extent that we gaze at it with unveiled faces, allowing ourselves to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). The longer and more deeply we surrender to the Spirits transforming power, the more freedom we have to be who we are called to be in Christ and the more freedom we have to reflect the glory of the Son of God. There is still another lesson to be learned from the moon: it suffers an eclipse if the earth comes between it and the sun. Likewise, the light we reflect from the Son also suffers an eclipse if worldly things come between us and him. That is the essence of worldliness (1 John 2:15-17)anything which gets between us and Jesus. So how is your moonshine? How is mine? Are we full moons for God? Half moons? Quarter moons? Or worst of all, are we in total eclipse? The moon is a majestic creation of God, glorifying him by reflecting light from the sun just as it was designed to do. Gods children are also majestic creations (Psalm 8:4-5), and we glorify him as we reflect light from his Son to the world around us (Eph. 5:8-9). May we all aspire to be full moons for our Lord.