God’s Moon
Ephesians 4v6 - [There is] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Exodus 19v5 - All the earth is mine.
One weekend my wife and I, along with our two boys, went away with some friends who also had two small boys. Our oldest was three at the time. Three year olds are still grappling with the concept of sharing toys and in their minds all the toys belong to them, whether it’s true or not. In fact, I think they believe that all things belong to them. They can sometimes get quite territorial over their favourite toys and cannot relinquish them to others even if they have no desire to play with them at that moment. Children are egocentric at this age and part of their process of growing up includes realising they aren’t the centre of the universe and they’re not the owners of everything.
At the end of the first day we had all heard the protest of “that’s mine!” being uttered countless times, but it built to a glorious and ridiculous crescendo after sunset. The boys were playing in front of a giant window that was overlooking the ocean, the beach, and the city lights. The moon was large and bright, dominating the night sky. After yet another altercation surrounding a particular toy (a member of the Paw Patrol), my friend's son turned to comment on the glorious lunar vista that was on display. “Look at the moon” he said, inviting us all to partake in its splendour. Sadly, this invitation was immediately swept away by my son who responded with the ridiculous statement in a loud voice “that’s MY moon”. That was it. My wife had had it with the escalating egocentric behaviour and she rapidly responded in a loud, clear rebuke to our son, “that is not your moon, that is God’s moon!”. And that seemed to settle it.
As I heard this, I was immediately struck by her statement. It was both true and deeply profound. The moon is not my son’s moon. It’s not ultimately our moon as humanity, even though it has been gifted to us in a sense. The moon is not even simply the moon, as if it was an entity all to itself with no master, creator or possessor. No. It is rightfully, truly, profoundly, God’s moon.
God is the creator of all things and has declared himself to be their rightful owner. Whether sand or rocks or moon or stars, the creator God of the Bible lays claim to all. When the mysterious Priest-King Melchizedek blessed Abram he did so saying “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth”. In the 24th Psalm, the great King David wrote that “the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein”. It’s all God’s. The fullness of everything and the subatomic particles in everything all lie under his ownership. God declares that all creatures, great and small are his when he declares “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine”. Do we realise that there is not one single thing in the entire cosmos that we can give to God? This is why he rebukes Job after he had accused God of wrongdoing. In a prolonged discourse God issues statement after statement and question after question declaring his greatness which includes his divine possessions. He asks Job “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine”.
Even the things that human beings themselves create and build can only exist because of the raw materials provided by God and the strength, breath and skill which is graciously given to humanity by him. Hebrews 3v4 says that “every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God”.
The moon does not belong to my son, or me, or you, or itself or the universe. It belongs to God. Although we might scoff at my son’s remark regarding his possession of the moon, and believe we have all outgrown the ways of early childhood, are we really so different? Do we not consciously and subconsciously conduct our lives as if we own at least some things, if not many things? Do we not believe certain possessions and access to particular items is our God-given right? Do we not claim that our bodies are our own, to do with as we please?
The reality is, there is a deep egocentrism at the core of all human beings. Although we may grow out of it at one level as we emerge from our toddler phase of life, we discover a new level of egocentrism takes its place. It grows as we acquire material possessions, develop natural skills that can be wielded for profit, and harness our bodies to achieve desired goals.
It’s at this point, we would do well to pause and remember the warning in Deuteronomy 17v18-19:
Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Not only does the moon not belong to us, but neither do the things we’ve bought, the skills we possess and the achievements we’ve stored up. If it were not for God’s gracious gifts to us we would have nothing and we would be nothing. And yet God is good, and so we have and we are.