Moon Worship

 It was a lovely weekend to be off school and to be pursuing the outdoors (primarily why I am a week late on this post). However, it caused me to think a lot about the glory of Creation and how much beauty God has given it. 

I have always been a lover of Creation. Since I was young, I attempted to catch robins in makeshift traps with my sister (we soon figured out that using a laundry basket and seed would not grant us a robin), watching the moon through my window at night, and wandering my backyard in contemplation with menfolk on the mind. There have been times when I have adored Creation so much it felt painful to be away (indoors) at any regular basis from it. However, the more I ground myself in Christ, the more I begin to realize that all of the beauty and adoration I feel for Creation is actually tied into God himself.

Since the Israelites first bumped shoulders with heathen men, God called them to a different perspective on Creation, saying, "When you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars--all the heavenly array--do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven" (Deut. 4:19). Our sinful intention is to turn to things that are glorious and full of wonder to idolize, but in the New Testament Paul reiterates about the sinful people vs. the holy people's reaction to what is glorious about Creation."They [wicked people] exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen" (Romans 1:25).

Our immediate reaction to the absolute knee-knocking beauty of God's creation should be a praiseworthy love and attitude towards God. Now when I go outside into Creation, I feel an overwhelming sense of wonder in God. The other day as I was visiting in a state park with a friend, the snow was gently falling around us, and despite the cold wind, I marveled at how beautiful God really was. He had created a place in this world for me to feel entirely myself and be prayerfully thankful in that moment.

Psalm 24:1 reminds us, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it". Even though today we can only visibly "see" the Creation and not the Creator, we can bring glory to him by being stunned by the world he has given us to explore. As flowers bloom anew and life is breathed into the breeze and the warmth, we turn to the sun not with worship for its rays, but with joy for the One who overshadows us with the beauty of his workmanship.