Look at the Insects: Lessons From God’s World Намуна

The Moth And The Star 

Did you know that moths exhibit an in-built attraction to light? This behaviour is called ‘trans-verse orientation’ - which is, navigating by flying at a constant angle relative to a distant light source, such as the moon. 

The poet P. B. Shelley saw the moth’s desire for the star as a powerful symbol of the heart’s desire for something which is both distant yet compelling.  

With this natural tendency to be drawn to a light source, the arrival of artificial light in our modern world has led to the moth finding itself in a quandary. A candlelit at night magnetizes moths, which end up being consumed in its flame. Our floodlit cities are illumined by mighty lights that attract and sadly vaporize moths on contact. 

This is the source of the phrase - ‘Like a moth to a flame’ which is used to describe their seeming self-destructive behaviour. 

Theologian Alister McGrath, poignantly writes: 

“Suppose the deep sense of yearning for something that really satisfies us is actually a longing for God… might not this longing accidentally become attached to lesser gods within this world? Might our quest for beauty become an end in itself, yet break our hearts because it fails to deliver what we had anticipated? Might our quest for significance end up being completely frustrated in that everything that we hoped would bring meaning to our lives seems to disappoint us? But suppose that these objects are like the candle to the moth – something which is only an image of our true desire?  Might there be something, which is what we really are meant to desire, that will not destroy us but bring us fulfillment and joy? … It may seem to us that we are engaged on a quest for meaning and truth; in fact, the truth is engaged on a quest for us and has drawn close to us”.

My 9-year old son did a drawing of this with a remarkable addition. The moth, the floodlights and the star were present. But, this was no ordinary star, but the strange star that showed up at the first Christmas - a star that led to the divine Saviour. Yes, religions are a human pursuit for God, while the gospel is God seeking after us. 

Tim Hughes’s song beautifully captures this for us:

Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with you. 

As pilgrims, let us join with Henry Newman and prayerfully respond to the Light of the World (with a capital L).

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on;
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene: one step enough for me.

I loved to choose, and see my path; but now
Lead thou me on.

 Friend, I do hope this series has given us a different perspective from the usual, and allowed us to learn lessons from God’s Word and His world. 

Stay blessed to be a blessing!

Drawings done by Ivan Boniface