Did you get to see the eclipse yesterday? Here in Arizona where we live we were able to see about 70% of the sun covered, between the patches of clouds obscuring our view. We were at work, so able to take one of our welding helmets to safely view the amazing sight. What a beautiful choreography that God has produced between the sun and the moon and the stars. All set in place by His spoken word, "Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night," Jeremiah 31:35 (KJV). Genesis 1:14, "Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years," (ESV).
What an incredible thing, to see this glorious dance between these celestial bodies, all held in place by His word. The sun and moon appearing to be the same size, although in reality the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but because it is 400 times farther away they seem to be the same diameter. If the Moon were slightly smaller or orbited a little farther away from Earth, it would never completely cover the solar disk. If the Moon were a little larger or orbited a bit closer to Earth, it would block much of the solar corona during totality, and eclipses wouldn’t be nearly as spectacular.
What a testament of His love and His grace. That the sun comes up every day to bring us light and warmth and that the moon reflects the sun's rays every night to bring us relief from the darkness. What a testament of His love that He sent His Son, the dayspring, the daystar to bring light to the darkness of our sinful lives. He came to bring light and life to lives that were overshadowed by sin. "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness," John 12:46 (AMP). He came that we would no longer be in the shadow of death, but that we would walk confidently in the light of His love and mercy. "But unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and you shall go forth and gambol like calves [released] from the stall and leap for joy," Malachi 4:2 (AMP).
Genesis 1:16, "And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night," (ESV). Jesus came as the greater light, to show us the way, to bring illumination to our need for Him. As we walk in relationship with Him, we become that lesser light to reflect His glory and love to the world. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, we are to reflect the light of Jesus. The eclipse happens when the moon passes between the earth and the sun. Because the sun is so large it seems an impossibility, how can this relatively minuscule moon cover the sun? It is because the distance of the sun is so far away and with intricate timing and complex geometry God directs everything and voila, the moon passes between the earth and sun and when you have totality, you see not the moon, but what you really see is the corona of the sun behind the moon. A glorious crown of fire encircling the moon.
Our responsibility as Christians is to come between the world and Jesus and be that light in the darkness. We are, as it says in Luke 1:79 to shine light on those in darkness and in the shadow of death. We're to be that light that reflects the Light of the World. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and it is totally dark. You are walking to the bathroom or the kitchen and you are stumbling about with arms outstretched, just hoping you don't run into a wall or stub your toe on a piece of furniture. How helpful even a tiny light from any source would be. How was it when you were living your life before coming to Christ? I have so many scars from all of the things I ran into when I was walking in complete darkness. Stubbed toes and bruises; aches and pains from colliding with things hidden in the dark. And how incandescent those people seemed who had something different in their lives. I couldn't explain it at the time. But now I know what it was. They were the mirror of Jesus. They resembled that greater light and showed me the way in the darkness. They provided the light to show the way out of the darkness and how to become that lesser light to others. "The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness will see a great Light; Those who live in the dark land, The Light will shine on them," Isaiah 9:2 (AMP).
I know in my life that there are times when I reflect Jesus better and sometimes it seems as though there is very little light coming from me. Just as the phases of the moon make it appear as a slim fingernail's edge of a crescent or as large as a great pearl, my light often waxes and wanes. I struggle as most of us do to be Jesus' hands extended to the world and those around me. I often fail, but oh how I want to always be a light in the darkness. I know that it is ofttimes like looking in a mirror that has a film over it. Cracked and dusty and showing a distorted image. My desire is to become a clear representation of my Lord. And how can I do that? I can do that by immersing myself in His word. By seeking His presence in my life through prayer and worship. I can do that by spending time with His children and being part of the Body of Christ. I can do that by not just reading His word, but by studying it. I do that by turning from the things of the world and aligning myself with Him. If I have a mirror and I turn the dull back side of it towards me, I don't see a thing. But if I turn the bright shining side to me and look into it, I will see an accurate reflection. It stands to reason that if I turn myself to Christ and the things of God that I will then be a more precise facsimile of Him. I will be converted or changed into the image of my Lord. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit," 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ASV). What a glorious thing to be remodeled into the image of Jesus. To know that when others look at me, they don't just see me, they see Him. They see the glory of God surrounding me, not because of anything I have done, but because of Whose I am. I am eclipsed by His glory.
Just as when the moon seems to eclipse the sun, it really isn't the moon you see, but the juxtaposition of the light and the dark. The moon seems to fade away and when totality comes, what you see is a corona or a crown of light surrounding it. Just so, when we align ourselves perfectly with Jesus it will not be us that the world sees, but it will be His righteousness and magnificence. "You will also be [considered] a crown of glory and splendor in the hand of the Lord," Isaiah 62:3 (AMP). All to His honor and to His glory, and we will be like the twenty four elders in the book of Revelation and cast that crown at His feet, saying 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power'.
Information about the solar eclipses found at https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-who-what-where-when-and-how and https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america/how-why
What an incredible thing, to see this glorious dance between these celestial bodies, all held in place by His word. The sun and moon appearing to be the same size, although in reality the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but because it is 400 times farther away they seem to be the same diameter. If the Moon were slightly smaller or orbited a little farther away from Earth, it would never completely cover the solar disk. If the Moon were a little larger or orbited a bit closer to Earth, it would block much of the solar corona during totality, and eclipses wouldn’t be nearly as spectacular.
What a testament of His love and His grace. That the sun comes up every day to bring us light and warmth and that the moon reflects the sun's rays every night to bring us relief from the darkness. What a testament of His love that He sent His Son, the dayspring, the daystar to bring light to the darkness of our sinful lives. He came to bring light and life to lives that were overshadowed by sin. "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness," John 12:46 (AMP). He came that we would no longer be in the shadow of death, but that we would walk confidently in the light of His love and mercy. "But unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and you shall go forth and gambol like calves [released] from the stall and leap for joy," Malachi 4:2 (AMP).
Genesis 1:16, "And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night," (ESV). Jesus came as the greater light, to show us the way, to bring illumination to our need for Him. As we walk in relationship with Him, we become that lesser light to reflect His glory and love to the world. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, we are to reflect the light of Jesus. The eclipse happens when the moon passes between the earth and the sun. Because the sun is so large it seems an impossibility, how can this relatively minuscule moon cover the sun? It is because the distance of the sun is so far away and with intricate timing and complex geometry God directs everything and voila, the moon passes between the earth and sun and when you have totality, you see not the moon, but what you really see is the corona of the sun behind the moon. A glorious crown of fire encircling the moon.
Our responsibility as Christians is to come between the world and Jesus and be that light in the darkness. We are, as it says in Luke 1:79 to shine light on those in darkness and in the shadow of death. We're to be that light that reflects the Light of the World. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and it is totally dark. You are walking to the bathroom or the kitchen and you are stumbling about with arms outstretched, just hoping you don't run into a wall or stub your toe on a piece of furniture. How helpful even a tiny light from any source would be. How was it when you were living your life before coming to Christ? I have so many scars from all of the things I ran into when I was walking in complete darkness. Stubbed toes and bruises; aches and pains from colliding with things hidden in the dark. And how incandescent those people seemed who had something different in their lives. I couldn't explain it at the time. But now I know what it was. They were the mirror of Jesus. They resembled that greater light and showed me the way in the darkness. They provided the light to show the way out of the darkness and how to become that lesser light to others. "The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness will see a great Light; Those who live in the dark land, The Light will shine on them," Isaiah 9:2 (AMP).
I know in my life that there are times when I reflect Jesus better and sometimes it seems as though there is very little light coming from me. Just as the phases of the moon make it appear as a slim fingernail's edge of a crescent or as large as a great pearl, my light often waxes and wanes. I struggle as most of us do to be Jesus' hands extended to the world and those around me. I often fail, but oh how I want to always be a light in the darkness. I know that it is ofttimes like looking in a mirror that has a film over it. Cracked and dusty and showing a distorted image. My desire is to become a clear representation of my Lord. And how can I do that? I can do that by immersing myself in His word. By seeking His presence in my life through prayer and worship. I can do that by spending time with His children and being part of the Body of Christ. I can do that by not just reading His word, but by studying it. I do that by turning from the things of the world and aligning myself with Him. If I have a mirror and I turn the dull back side of it towards me, I don't see a thing. But if I turn the bright shining side to me and look into it, I will see an accurate reflection. It stands to reason that if I turn myself to Christ and the things of God that I will then be a more precise facsimile of Him. I will be converted or changed into the image of my Lord. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit," 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ASV). What a glorious thing to be remodeled into the image of Jesus. To know that when others look at me, they don't just see me, they see Him. They see the glory of God surrounding me, not because of anything I have done, but because of Whose I am. I am eclipsed by His glory.
Just as when the moon seems to eclipse the sun, it really isn't the moon you see, but the juxtaposition of the light and the dark. The moon seems to fade away and when totality comes, what you see is a corona or a crown of light surrounding it. Just so, when we align ourselves perfectly with Jesus it will not be us that the world sees, but it will be His righteousness and magnificence. "You will also be [considered] a crown of glory and splendor in the hand of the Lord," Isaiah 62:3 (AMP). All to His honor and to His glory, and we will be like the twenty four elders in the book of Revelation and cast that crown at His feet, saying 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power'.
Information about the solar eclipses found at https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-who-what-where-when-and-how and https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america/how-why