Looking for Rainbows?

In purely scientific terms, a rainbow is formed by refraction and reflection of the sun's rays on raindrops. Yet from the time we're children we instinctively see the hand of God when bright bands of color arc across the sky.

Did you know there are rainbows at both ends of the Bible? The rainbow is mentioned both in Genesis and in Revelation.

In between, sometimes it is hard for God's people to see rainbows. In between, the promises of God were hard to see because sin filled the sky and blocked them out.

The problem is, we all live "in between." God created a perfect world, and Jesus has gone to prepare a perfect home for us. Meanwhile, in between, "we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved" (Romans 8:23, 24). Christ rose from the dead and has promised to give us new immortal bodies, but "meanwhile we are longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling" (2 Corinthians 5:2). Sometimes it's hard to see the rainbows when you live "in between."

Noah's family were the first to see a rainbow. When God sent the flood, "only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water" (1 Peter 3:20). Noah and his wife, along with their three sons and three daughters-in-law, lived through the biggest catastrophe the world has ever seen. After the floodwaters receded, God promised that whenever a rainbow appears in the clouds, he will see it and remember his covenant with mankind. Harsh judgment was followed by a sign of hope. "The world of that time was deluged and destroyed" (2 Peter 3:6), but Noah's family lived on and repopulated the earth (Genesis 9:19).

You've heard of Aunt Jemimah's pancake products, but did you know that Jemimah is the name of a beautiful woman mentioned in the Bible? She was one of three daughters born to Job and his wife after God restored and expanded their fortunes in the latter part in their lives. "Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters" (Job 42:15). After Job's intense suffering, "the Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first" (Job 42:12). There's beauty and blessing at the beginning and at the end of the story. The hard part for Job was living "in between."

Have you caught a glimpse of God's goodness as you leave 2003 behind and enter the new year? Can you see the reflection of a rainbow in your children's eyes? Do you hear hope in the preacher's sermon, in the season's songs of praise, in the promises of God found in Scripture?

At the end of the rainbow is not a pot of gold but the throne of God. Near the end of the Bible, John caught a glimpse of Heaven and God's throne. "And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne" (Revelation 4:3).

Even when the colors of life don't look bright, there's still hope. As long as God is on his throne, the rainbow will always be there.