Moons for Christ!

This is the post that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends.....

My friend Gaylene wrote this on her blog tonight while musing about Matthew 2:10 (check it out: http://greetingsfromaustinstreet.blogspot.com)

"We are the people who walk in darkness and the great light is out there for all of us to see. God offers His light, His son, Jesus, to us so that we never have to walk in darkness. "

At the same time, that Light should be shining through us. I'm not telling you anything you don't already know that the only reason we can see the Moon is because of the sun's light reflecting off its surface. (If you didn't know that, pause here, and do one of the following: call your fourth-grade science teacher, apologize for not paying attention during the whole "moon" discussion, and could she explain that part again? OR, you can Google "How the Moon shines." You should find all kinds of pages explaining how the moon shines. I'll skip the jokes about alcohol recipes. For now!)

ANYway, when you see me, do you see the Light? Now, obviously, I'm not THE Light. (I'm barely a dim bulb!) But when you see people who call themselves Christians (myself included), is the Light reflecting off them/us/me? If you can't see the Light in/through me, then no words I say or type here will convince you that I'm as Christian as I like to think I am. Same goes for anyone who calls themselves a Christian, no matter the denomination.

And it's as simple as literally flicking on a light-switch! Love one another. Help those in need. Speak kindly as often as possible. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (thanks, Mom!). Why is that so difficult?

In the Lutheran church (or at least among us ELCA types), when someone is baptized, the pastor says to the baptized, "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and bring glory to God in Heaven." If we call ourselves Christians, we have an obligation to others to make sure that the Light is radiating off of us just like sunlight radiates off the moon. We are not THE Light, but we can see The Light, and He can see us. Therefore, we should be radiating that Light to others, to keep them from the darkness and in the Light.* (Do you want to reflect the Light like the moon reflects its light? Then make sure you're revolving around the Son! HA! I kill me! HEY: put down that gun!)

(*Offering another 100 points to whoever guesses the group from which THAT little reference came! See if I can stump that guy THIS time!)

I'll close with a song that's been running thru my head while typing this. (Credit where credit is due: I cut and pasted the following from http://www.theinterpretersfriend.com/songs/brng-4th-e-kngdm.html. Since I play the bass in our church band, and because I'm lousy at singing and playing at the same time, I choose to play and worry about the words later, which half the time I'm only barely paying attention to anyway):

You are a light on the hill, O people,
light for the city of God!
Shine so holy and bright, O people:
shine for the kingdom of God!

Refrain:
Bring forth the kingdom of mercy,
bring forth the kingdom of peace.
Bring forth the kingdom of justice,
bring forth the city of God!

To paraphrase a favorite group of mine, "Come on you seekers, you searchers and faithful and SHINE!" (No points for that one)

In Him and around the corner (and all over the map, wishing that I had a coherency-checker in addition to my spell-checker),

Al