Sometimes it really pays to be a morning person. My husband and I were out walking early last Thursday morning and were able to witness the very rare super blue moon. It was an amazing sight, especially because it is a sight that will not occur again until 2037.
Jim and I discussed the fact that we will be seventy-nine years old on that day. It was an interesting and somewhat sobering thought. We are getting older! (Notice I didn’t say “old.”)
“Blue Moon”
I must not have paid very much attention to the blue moons of the past. I didn’t know until Jim told me that those moons originated the phrase, “Once in a blue moon.” My mom used that phrase often while I was growing up and I had never associated it with an actual event.
Those thoughts led me to wonder whether or not the song “Blue Moon” had anything to do with the lunar event. The song was written in 1934 but became a number-one hit by the Marcels on the Billboard 100 chart in 1961. It was covered by a long list of people, including Elvis Presley. I liked the Frank Sinatra cover, and here’s a video link with the lyrics so you can listen if you would like.
I don’t know whether Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, the men who wrote Blue Moon, were inspired by an actual blue moon, but they wrote a good song that became an international hit.
Why did God create a blue super moon?
The lunar event was fun to experience, and Jim and I had a fun walk that morning. Later I found myself wondering, “What might God have been thinking as he created a moon like this for us?” This moon is rare and beautiful. What did God want us to know about him through his creation?
Paul teaches in the book of Romans that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20).
The apostle John reminds us that Jesus, the Word, “was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2) and that “all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (v. 3). I wonder what God the Father and God the Son wanted to say to all of us when they decided to create a lunar event that would only occur every ten to fifteen years.
The holy uniqueness of our Creator
Paul’s words about the creation from Romans 1:20 conclude with these words: “So they are without excuse.” Paul was saying that all people, throughout time, are without excuse if they lack belief in their Creator.
How can we be sure there is a Creator God of the universe?
- Sunrises and sunsets
- Seasons
- Mountains, valleys, rivers, streams, canyons, deserts, forests, beaches, and millions of species of plants and animals
- Hurricanes, droughts, rainstorms, warm breezes, winter snows, spring rebirth
- Infants, toddlers, tweens, teens, adults, and the aged
- Time itself is marked by God’s creation
People “are without excuse” if they can exist in this amazing world and choose not to glorify the One who created all there is. As I watched the blue super moon sink on the horizon, I knew I served a great and mighty God who is holy, perfect, and unique.
Why is there unbelief?
Paul’s wisdom answers that question as well. He wrote, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:21–23.)
Paul began Romans, his comprehensive book of theology, with those thoughts for a reason. Museums throughout the world display ancient artifacts that men created and called their gods. The evidence for God’s existence is everywhere unless people are focused on lesser things. That’s why Paul could say they have “no excuse” for their unbelief.
Once in a blue moon?
There is a lot of rhetoric about climate change, but scientists are still hypothesizing about it. Christians can point out that God created our climate and gave human beings the responsibility to care for it. There is a lot of news about the damage caused by the hurricane. We can point to the power of God’s redemption in the actions of the people who have rushed in to help with rebuilding. Many of those people are people of faith. It’s time for the created to acknowledge and honor their Creator.
A lot of people wonder if there is a God. Christians can lead people to faith in their Creator, and our witness should occur more often than “once in a blue moon.” Everything God created, including each of us, has a purpose. The forward direction of our world is an indicator that this magnificent creation is only a hint of what we will experience in heaven’s perfection. Others deserve to share our hope.
The phrase “once in a blue moon” is only for planet Earth “for such a time as this,” to borrow a phrase from Esther 4:14. People won’t see a blue moon in heaven because “night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).
Imagine standing with Jesus on the Day of Judgment when God asks, “How often did you share the gospel?”
None of us will want to respond, “Once in a blue moon.”
Will you watch for the opportunity to glorify your heavenly Father today?
It could make all the difference in someone’s life.
The created need to honor the Creator. If you don’t know how to start, just focus on his creation.