And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; Let them celebrate the appointed seasons, the days, and the years, whether they be lights in the firmament of the heavens, and lights in the earth. ” And thus it came to pass: God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: and the stars. (Gen. 1: 14-16).

The sun is both the center of light and the center of our entire planetary system. Smaller celestial bodies revolve around it, receiving their light from it. Therefore, the sun can be seen as a symbol of the one who rises as “the sun of righteousness, and under whose wings there is healing” (Gen. 3:20) to make glad the hearts of the godly.

The beauty of this symbol is understandable to those who have watched through the night and can now watch the rising sun pour over the eastern sky with its bright rays. The shadows of fog and night will fade, and all creation will celebrate at the dawn of a cloudless morning, the beginning of the day of eternal glory.

The moon is dark in itself. It receives all it´s light from the sun and constantly reflects it back to the earth, as long as it is not hindered by the Earth itself. The sun can hardly sink beyhind the horizon when the moon rises to illuminate the darkness of the earth with the rays of the sun. However, when the moon is in the sky during the day, it is barely noticeable due to the brightness of the sun, and the atmosphere, dark clouds, dense fog, and cold vapors rising from the ground are also a reflection of the moon’s silver light. Thus the moon reminds us of the church, while the sun symbolizes Christ.

The light source of the church is hidden and invisible. The world does not see it, but the church sees it. The mission of the church is to reflect light to a world buried in darkness. “Ye,” says the apostle, “you are our letter,… understandable and legible to every man.” And more. “It is evident that ye are the letter of Christ, written with the Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor. 3: 2-3).

What a responsibility the church has! Should the church not then be constantly vigilant, resisting all that prevents it from reflecting the heavenly light of Christ in all it´s ways. But how canthe church be able to reflect this light?

No more than generously accepting it into themselves. If the Church walked in the light of Christ, it would no doubt reflect that light and thus maintain the position assigned to her. The moon itself has no light. Also the Church has no light. It is not called to enlighten the world with it´s own glory. He can only reflect the light it has received. It is the duty of the church to follow the Lord carefully while living on earth and to follow in His footsteps by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But oh woe, between the earth and Christ, lies often the earth with its clouds and fog, obscuring the light and erasing the letter of Christ in us, so that the world can only see with great difficulty few features of Christ in those who bear the name of Christ.

Often, the world discovers sadly that Christians are different from Christ rather than similar to Him. Let us then strive to know Christ more and more in the praying spirit in order to acquire the ability to imitate Him even more faithfully!

Excerpt from C.H. Macintosh book “Explanations of the Book of Moses, Part 1”