I am a hopelessly incurable romantic – especially on a moonlit night. "Carolina Moon, keep shining… shining on the one who waits for me." I used to love sitting outside in the backyard with my mom on a night when the moon would be coming up so big and bright and beautiful. She and I would sit there and look at the moon and sing every moon song we knew. "When it's moonlight over the river Colorado, how I wish that I were there with you." I think you can see I really am a romantic.
You know what? Moonlit nights, I love them, because the heavens declare the glory of God, it says in the Bible. It seems to me that on a night when the moon is full, soft, and oh so quiet, the heavens declare a special kind of glory. Now... how is it that I can glorify God while swooning underneath a full moon? Well, I'll tell you: there is a way to delight in God's creation that is not for creation’s sake, but for God's sake. I look up at that moon, sitting there filled with delight and longing and, yes, even romance, and this is often what I think, “Oh Lord Jesus, the emotions of the wonder and yearning that I feel on this lovely night remind me of how utterly beautiful heaven will be with you – you created this for my enjoyment and it is just a little hint, just a little preview, a whisper, a foreshadowing of even more utterly beautiful things to come when I go home to you in heaven! Oh, Jesus, I love you for that.”
Friend, that's the way you can glorify God when you look on His creation. I do not love the moon for the moon's sake – that would be idolatry. I love the moon because it points me to a greater love: my Lord Jesus who originally came up with the idea of how beautiful a moonlit night should look! A full moon didn't become beautiful on its own… those nights are supposed to be… something in it that points to its Creator: love, beauty, quiet delight, and, yes, even romance (you won't find a greater lover than the hound of Heaven who is passionate about seeking and saving the lost).
Yep, the heavens declare the glory of God – the sun and the moon and the stars. Wind in pine trees declares the glory of God, as does a wheat field stirring in the breeze. I love nature because its beauty points me to the loveliness of my God who created every good and perfect gift – even tonight’s moonlit night – for my enjoyment. I don't idolize nature; I worship God, and nature declares His glory.
You know, on a night like this, with the full moon, I may miss my mother (she’s long gone on to heaven), but I have to remember that the heavens declare the glory of one day being reunited with her at the feet of our precious Savior. It is the Lord Himself who placed within my heart – and He placed it within my mommy’s – a longing and a loving and a delighting in Him. And it happens every time a full moon rises on the horizon. So, go outside and enjoy that moon tonight… and thank the Lord Jesus that it declares His glory.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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