Watching the “Blue Moon” last week and the almost-full moons the days before and after started me thinking about light and darkness.

Even if it didn’t appear to be blue, the brightness of the full moon outshone all other lights around us. Even though a full moon comes once a month, the fact that there were two in July this year caused great excitement. It won’t happen again until 2018.

Every cloudless night in Iowa, where city lights are far away, the stars glisten like diamonds on a dark canvas. It’s impossible to take one’s eyes off the glittering beauty.

I remember a pastor who gave a children’s sermon once about dark and light. He pointed out there is no such thing as a “flashdark,” only  a “flashlight.” Light can overtake darkness, but the dark can never overtake the light.[Tweet “There’s no such thing as a “flashdark.””]

At times it seems as if our world is being drowned in darkness. Evil, murder, immorality, self-absorption all seem to rule, wherever we turn. And closer to home, there’s pain, illness, betrayal, hardship, even unexpected death.

Yet scripture tells us “the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8, NIV). We know that refers to Jesus, who declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, ESV).[Tweet “Sometimes we have to wait for the light to shine through.”]

As I look at the stars and, especially, a full moon, I am reminded of the One who brought light into the world–Jesus Christ. He has already overcome the darkness. Sometimes we just have to be patient and wait for the light to shine through.

Are you focusing on the darkness around you, or on the Light?