Barking at the Moon

An old judge told of a troublesome dog, that whenever the moon was shining, went out and barked at it all night! Someone asked the judge what eventually came of the matter, "Oh," said the judge, "the moon just kept on shining."

One of the hardest things for a Christian to ever do is to keep on shining when being barked at by others. Many times even insignificant matters can disturb and discourage us. Paul’s approach was: "Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14; ASV).

No doubt the enemies of Christ often barked at Him and tried to get Him to react in a mean and sinful way. But, He was the light of the world and wouldn’t give up His glory. He just kept on shining, and in doing that He left us an example to follow (1 Pet. 2:21) when those who are teaching error bark at you for exposing their error. Do you bark at those who try to teach you the truth?

Tom Moore