God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.” And there it was.
God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day, The smaller to be in charge of Night; and he made the stars. God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up Earth And oversee Day and Night, to separate light and dark. God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1: 14-18 The Message
Last night, the moon was full. It appeared bigger than normal on the horizon. Depending on where you were in the valley, it felt like it might have been right over in Quincy. It was almost like watching a light show as it rose.
The creation story in the first two chapters of Genesis reminds us that God created our beautiful world. His creation includes the heavens, with the moon and the sun and the stars.
God created the sun to rule the day, and the moon to rule the night. While we can and should appreciate the beauty of the moon, the ancient Israelites actually got into trouble with God when worshipping the moon, instead of the Lord. Many things in our world are amazing, but God decrees that only He is to be worshiped.
After creating the sun and the moon, we are told that the Lord evaluated his new heavenly creations. God declared, “And it was good.” Of course, God says that about every single day of creation in the creation. Except when God created human beings. On that day, we are told that God said, “And it was very good!”
The moon last night is called the “Fruit Moon”. Living in our lush valley at harvest time, we know that every minute of daylight to harvest is always critical, as the fruit is ripe and ready to be picked.
I don’t think that it is a coincidence that God gave us a little extra light to accomplish a necessary task. God is always one step ahead of us, lighting the way. Even in the darkness, the moon is always visible, whether it is waxing or waning. Motel 6 used to have a slogan, “We’ll leave the light on for you!” In other words, we will always be here for you. God is the same way. Even when we are so far away from Him, He still leaves the light on for us. We are responsible, though, to seek out His light. It is always there.
Prayer
Lord of all,
You provide every opportunity for us to see Your light. Help us turn our eyes towards heaven. May we see your magnificent beauty, inviting us to walk with You in the light. Thank you for taking care of every detail in our life to help us seek You. Guide us in your path of light.
We pray this prayer in your Holy name. Amen
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