What Moon Phaase are You?
2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Last year, my son Jacob had a school project to look at the moon every night for 30 days and write down the shape. The shape of the moon is different, depending on the angle of where the earth is...it could be a waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, waning crescent, or new moon. (Did they just make these terms up recently, or did I totally miss that when I was in school?) Admittedly, I was not a good student, but even my husband was at a loss for helping with that project!
Now, simple science lessons tell us that the moon doesn't give off it's own light. It reflects the sun's light, so if the clouds are out or there is fog in the sky, you can't see it. Well, we definitely experienced that scenario many times over during that month-long project. The fog was so bad the whole first week that all we could do was look at the internet to see what the shape of the moon was supposed to be, then write it down.
2 Corinthians talks about reflecting God's glory. It talks about how Moses in the Old Testament wore a veil over his face after it 'glowed' from being in God's presence. If they made a movie, certainly it could have been called "The Shining." But, here in the New Testament, Paul tells us we don't need to wear a veil over our face to reflect God's glory. He says in verse 18 that the more time we spend with God, the more we are being transformed into His likeness.
Have you ever gone to a part of the country or a foreign country where they speak with an accent? I've been to the UK several times, and while I was in college, I spent almost a month in Australia doing mission work. The more time I spend in these kind of places, the more I begin speaking (or unconsciously) trying to speak like them. My son Jacob has a friend here in Texas with a pretty strong Southern drawl. The little boy's brother and family do not have do not have this accent...just him. (I think his goal is to be a country singer when he grows up, and right now, he's got all the swagger going for him.) Well, after Jacob spends a few hours with this friend, Jacob starts talking all 'hick' and 'country.' No offense...that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it illustrates the point Paul is trying to say. The more time you spend with someone, the more you become like them. Spend time with Christ, and you will become more like Him, reflecting His glory.
If my focus is on television or my favorite show, it will consume my thoughts. If I put my sole attention on food, gambling, or drugs, I easily can become an addict. If my sole focus is on work, I will be a workaholic. But if my focus is on Christ, I will become more like Him. I will be addicted to Him and His love. Now that's not a bad thing! Look at the verse again. We are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory. And where does that glory come from? It's from the Lord. I cannot be transformed into His likeness without spending time with Him.
Yes, sometimes the clouds and fog roll in. Sometimes it's difficult to reflect God's glory when circumstances happen that shake us. We end up waning, like the phases of the moon. But just like the sun is always there, Christ is always there, waiting to be reflected. God doesn't promise me this perfect life where everything goes according to my plans. He asks me to be faithful...to spend time with Him...to reflect His glory, even in the fog. For me, my focus has been on God, but I've felt lately as though I've been in a fog. Life is flying by seemingly a mile a minute, and I feel like I just can't get a handle on anything very well. So today, I'm asking God to blow His sweet breath through my life to blow away the fog and the clouds, so I can be a full moon, shining brightly and reflecting only His glory!
What moon phase are you?
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com
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