Why does the moon shine?
When this commentary was written there was a full moon in Chicago. The moon was shining brightly and gloriously over the night sky. In areas with not as many lights than Chicago, you would also see a glow that enlightens the dark environment making the night lighter. Even though the Moon is the brightest object in the night sky, it does not make its own light. It "shines" when the sun's light beams onto its surface, and is reflected back to earth. The light we see from the Moon is actually sunlight that is reflected from the Moon's surface.
Spiritually, we are to be like the moon; which is why Christ told the disciples, "Ye are the light of the world…" (Matthew 5:14). The light we shine is not ours, but a reflection of God's light. In the Biblical Greek the pronoun you is plural, but the noun light is singular. There is one light, but many people. Now, typically we associate glory with shining, and shining with light. When we are light we shine, and when we shine we glorify.
Does it mean then that we are light only when we sing praises, worship, and give God glory? Or is it something more to it? What is glory in the Bible?
When we read in Exodus that Moses asked God to show His glory, God responded in a different way that we would respond, let us read the passage,
Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, …
God in essence said to Moses that His glory is His goodness. God expands this concept in the next chapter. Let us read,
Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exodus 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
God says to Moses that His righteous character is His glory. Again, as the moon, we do not make our own "light"; we do not give up our own glory, besides we have none. Any "glory" we give out comes from God. From this we understand that those who reflect God's glory, those in which the righteous character of Christ is reproduced, give God glory. It does not mean they do not speak it or sing it. It means that when they do it comes from the heart and it shows.
This is all the result of what the Holy Spirit does in us, if we let Him. It is He that reproduces Christ's righteousness in us with our permission. So, the light we shine is singular because there is one Spirit, but diverse gifts and several aspects to His fruit (1Corinthians 12: 4 - 13; Ephesians 2:18). When the Holy Spirit indwells us then we bear His fruit. This is true, since abiding in Christ and He in us is the same as the Spirit dwelling in us.
In John 15 Christ tells the disciples about the relationship between abiding and the fruit,
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Again, without our abiding in Christ, which is really the Spirit indwelling in us, we cannot bear His fruit (Galatians 5:22). And, according to Jesus that is the only way we glorify the Father.
John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
So bearing the Fruit of the Spirit is the same as shining the light to the world, glorifying God, which is reflecting and reproducing His character.
--
Raul Diaz
www.wolfsoath.com
