Well, we've done it. We've discovered water on the moon. India had come to that conclusion earlier this year. NASA's own test has confirmed it. I was at our hotel in Orlando when NASA's missile struck the surface. A man was outside staring at the moon, hoping to see something spectacular.

Nothing.

Oh well. In the breakfast room, the news reporters sounded pretty disappointed by the initial results.

But then after a month, the news was buzzing again. It's confirmed. There is water on the moon.

So now what? What does that tell us? What is the moon's message? I suppose some will see this as a step toward having a colony on the moon. It would be a lot easier if we didnt' have to transport a steady drinking supply from the earth. Of course, there's a cynical side to me that imagines having to slam a 5600 mph missile into a crater every time we need enough water to wash the dishes. I think we have a little ways to go before this leads to colonization.

You and I know that the moon tells us a lot more. God says that he put the moon where it belongs along with the sun to "

serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years," and to be "lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth" ( Gen. 1:14,15 ).

But the moon will one day have another message. Jesus says in Matthew 24, “Immediately after the distress of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."

The moon will bear another message. Jesus is coming. Jesus is here. It's not going to matter how much water was found there. Jesus is coming. What a blessed sign it will be on the day. How thankful I will be to God for the moon when it announces what the whole Church eagerly longs for. Jesus is coming. We pray he comes quickly. For his great glory will be that he has saved you and me, and will take us to be with him.

Until then, the moon has its purpose. I don't know if we'll ever set up colonies there. But what does it matter? This world, the moon... they aren't our final home anyway. Jesus is coming, and we are going home with him.