There is something deeply, inherently satisfying about a perfect circle—a shape without beginning or end; a universal symbol of wholeness, harmony, and eternity. Have you ever tried to draw one freehand? I have, and I have failed. I doubt anyone truly can. Yet, we are irresistibly drawn to its impeccable form.
In Chinese culture, no circle is more significant or beautiful than the full, bright moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Reunion is the very heartbeat of the holiday, and the moon’s flawless face is its ultimate emblem. Families gather in circles to share a meal, savor delicious mooncakes, and light colorful lanterns—every act speaks of a deep yearning for “wholeness.”
Yet, for all our joyous celebrations, a quiet truth often lingers in the spaces between the laughter: our lives are rarely perfect circles. They are marred by fractures, rough edges, and missing pieces. The very yearning for reunion hints at our reality of separation. The quest for the perfect circle, then, is more than a cultural tradition; it is a mirror to the human soul’s deepest longing. What if this ancient, shared ritual is a window into heaven, whispering of a fulfilment far greater than itself?
To glimpse that fulfilment, we must first have the courage to face the cracks in our own lives.
The Broken Circles of Our Lives
We strive to create perfect circles by our own strength, but like a freehand drawing, our best efforts fall short. We pour ourselves into our families, hoping they will be a source of unbroken love and harmony. Yet even the closest families know the pain of misunderstanding, disagreement, and loss. As a poignant saying reminds us, “Every family has its own story of silent struggles.”
Like a cracked mooncake, our lives are marked by imperfection. We know broken promises, broken health, and broken hearts. The perfect moon in the sky, in its gentle glow, can cast a shadow on our own sense of incompleteness. Yet this is not a reason for despair, but a profound clue. This persistent, universal longing suggests it is not a foolish dream, but a distant memory of the image for which we were created. We all carry a void—a negative space where wholeness should be. We are perpetually searching for a peace and restoration the world cannot give, because we were created for one that comes from beyond it.
The Moon’s Shadow and Our Longing
Centuries ago, the Chinese literary giant Su Shi gazed upon the Mid-Autumn moon and gave voice to this very human ache in words that have echoed through the ages:
“When will the bright moon appear? Holding a cup of wine, I ask the clear sky…
People experience sorrow, joy, parting, and reunion; the moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane. This has always been imperfect since ancient times.”
His observation is as true now as it was then. The moon’s cycle is a mirror of our lives, reflecting seasons of joy in reunion and sorrow in parting, of bright fulfilment and shadowed longing. The poet names the core of our shared pain: “This has always been imperfect since ancient times.” Living in a world of broken circles, our deepest question is no longer about the moon’s phases, but about our own separations—and whether eternal reunion is truly possible.
The Promise of a Circle That Cannot Be Broken
The God who created the moon and placed this longing for perfection within us did not abandon us to our brokenness. He entered our fractured world to offer a circle that can never be broken.
Our quest for wholeness is like that freehand circle—a beautiful ideal we cannot achieve on our own.This is the parable Jesus told of the prodigal son and his loving father: a young man shatters his relationship with his father, seeking fulfillment in a distant country only to end up broken, starved, and lost. His lonely, fractured life is a picture of our own. In this disobedient son, we see our own story of deliberate independence and its devastating consequences. But the story’s climax is not the son’s quest for home; it is the father’s quest for his son. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). The son shuffled home in regret and remorse; the father ran to him with excitement and joy.
This running father reveals the heart of our heavenly Father: His great love and relentless quest for humanity. The Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16). He is not merely a loving being—love is his very nature and the source from which all true love flows.
Unexpectedly, the ultimate symbol of this divine pursuit is not a circle, but a cross. At first glance, the cross is the very opposite of a circle—an intersection of harsh lines, an instrument of execution and separation. Yet, it is precisely there that this loving quest reached its pinnacle. The Bible reveals that our separation from God—the source of all life and wholeness—is the deepest fracture in our existence. Like the compassionate father in the story, God shows his love for us in action: not with a kiss, but with a sacrifice. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
On the cross, Jesus bore the full weight of our brokenness upon himself. For our sake, God “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There, his sacrifice bridged the chasm, forging a new and unbreakable circle between God and humanity. He endured the ultimate loneliness of being cut off from the Father so that we, who were far away, could be brought near into a peaceful and restored relationship with him.
This is faith’s great paradox: the path to the perfect circle passes through the cross that bore the world’s brokenness. The love demonstrated there is the only force powerful enough to mend our broken pieces. It offers a reconciliation with God that then enables true reconciliation—with others and with ourselves, ultimately drawing us into the eternal circle of his love—a reunion that not even death can end.
From the Moon’s Reflection to an Eternal Home
This truth does not diminish the joy of the Mid-Autumn Festival—it fulfils it. The love we share with family, the comfort of tradition, the beauty of the moon—these are all good and precious gifts. They are like reflections of the moon—beautiful glimpses of the true light, but not the light itself.
When we realize that our deepest quest is for the love of God in Christ, our earthly celebrations take on a new and richer meaning. The family reunion becomes a foretaste of a deeper, eternal communion.For those who respond to this love, God promises an unfathomable intimacy, revealed in the words of Jesus: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). This divine initiative is the very source of our human capacity to love. As Scripture simply and profoundly states, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Here, then, is the beginning of the answer to our deepest longing. The God who is love promises not merely a future home in a glorious mansion, but to make his home with us now. He begins to complete our broken circle from within.
And this present reality culminates in a future hope where the cycle of parting and sorrow is broken forever. The Bible’s final chapters paint a picture of the ultimate reunion: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In verse 6, God declares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” Is he not the very source and ultimate fulfillment of all our yearning for the perfect circle?
And so, as you gaze upon the moon and recall Su Shi’s wish—“I only wish that we may live long and share the beauty of the moon, even if thousands of miles apart”—may you know: your longing for wholeness is genuine and your quest for the perfect circle is not in vain. It is a journey that finds its answer in the God who promises a reunion so complete, he will wipe away every tear; and a home so permanent, we will dwell with him in a perfect circle of love that has no end.
This is a journey of seeking, and its destination points to the God who promises complete reunion—who will wipe away every one of your tears and welcome you into that eternally perfect circle of love.
The moon illuminates the path of our quest; the cross reveals the Father’s love. It is this perfect Love that will ultimately lead us home.
