I amthe light of the world

I am the light of the world.

Those are our "words to remember" for homeschool this week. We're studying the moon. The moon has no light of its own and can only reflect the light that it receives from the sun. The moon goes through its various stages of "crescent" to "full" based on the amount of light it is receiving from the sun and therefore able to reflect.

On a very elementary level the kids are learning that they are like the moon with no light of their own. If they want to shine, they must spend time with Jesus who is the Light of the world. The more time they spend with Jesus (reading His word, thinking about His teachings, talking with Him, talking with others about Him) the more they will reflect His light to the world around them. We sang "This Little Light of Mine". Hopefully this helps you explain things to your children, too.

As an adult, I wonder if my moon is "full" consistently or does it go through cycles just like the physical moon that God created to light our earth at night? 1 Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore, get your minds ready for action, being self - disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Being "ready for action" implies preparation; preparing for action. We don't know what is going to come at us in a day, but we certainly know there's going to be action. The only way to prepare for the action of spiritual battle is being in the Word and spending time in prayer before the action starts.

My friend Catrese says it's like taking a daily vitamin. You don't wait until you're sick to start chucking vitamins down your throat in hopes that it will miraculously cure whatever ails you. You take vitamins to maintain your health. When the inevitable sickness or ailment or accident comes you will have to fight it with whatever the current state of your health is. If you were taking vitamins then hopefully that health is going to be pretty good.

In our spiritual lives, the inevitable tragedy, problem, crisis, ect. IS going to come.......and usually it will be a surprise. When it does, we don't have time to "catch up" on our spiritual walk.......chucking random bible verses down our throats wondering, "What does that mean?! Should I do that?! Is that verse speaking to me?!" We have to face the urgency of that crisis with the current state of our spiritual health.

So what's the state of your spiritual health? What does your moon look like? Are you a crescent that is barely reflecting the Son? Are you fulling reflecting the Son, shining so bright that those in darkness are attracted to you?

Sara Brownley said at church last night, "Let's face it. Our purpose for being on this earth is to lead others to Christ. We have to ask ourselves, 'Am I doing that'?"

As Clint and I face crisis after crisis (as we all do) our best evangelistic effort is summed up in our response to those crisis situations. The people in our circle of influence don't care that we go to church, believe in Christ, pray before meals, ect. They want to know WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? When someone dies, when you lose your job, when your kids are driving you nuts - what makes you any different than me? Well, if our moon is only at a crescent, if we haven't "prepared for action" then in the moment of crisis we probably won't respond any different than a person who doesn't have Christ. Our moon won't reflect the Son to a dark world. And in reference to Sara's quote, in that instance we will have failed our mission for even being on earth.

I'll end with a thought I got from Beth Moore on discipleship. I say a "thought" and not a "quote" because I didn't write it down word for word. Here's the thought: The moment we jump off the learning curve with Christ we are no longer a disciple of Christ. We cannot lose our salvation! BUT when we cease to learn more of the knowledge of Christ we cease to be a disciple of Christ."

The verse in 1 Peter says to be "self - disciplined". Discipline and disciple go hand in hand. Preparing our minds for action, being in the Word before the action of the day begins, spending time in prayer with the Father all require self discipline. And the discipline of being a true disciple who is growing in Christ..........well, that prepares us for the crisis moment when the witness of our response in faith to God's love can shine through to a darkened world. Purpose for being on earth: accomplished.

A work in progress,
Margie