The Rainbow

Last year I was travelling on a train. It was a particularly wet, grey day but, for all that, when I travel, I enjoy looking out of the window and this journey was no different. Suddenly, I saw something through the gloom. All excited, I leapt from my seat, pointed to the window and excitedly declared, “Rainbow!” In that instant, when embarrassment could have taken hold, it was a strange thing to do in such a public place. I looked around and saw that every member of the carriage had also got up and moved to the window to look at the rainbow, and we all stayed looking and chatting until it faded.

In this time of the pandemic we cannot fail to notice pictures of rainbows which have been drawn by children appearing all over the world. As I have read about this in the press, it reports these as symbols of hope. On the train, what I realised is that there is something in the heart of every person. I think that we all have a longing for more, a longing for all that the rainbow means, even if we do not fully understand it. We are drawn to what the rainbow represents.

In Genesis we are told that the rainbow is a sign of God’s covenantal promise to us, His unbreakable promise that He will never again destroy all life. In Jesus we see the utter fulfilment of this promise when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. In Him we have eternal life, a hope which is steadfast and certain, and this is affirmed each time we see a rainbow. It touches our spirits and excites us. It’s the possibility of life in abundance now, knowing we are loved and forgiven and that we have eternal life with Him.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your sign of the rainbow. Thank You that we can have more than just the hope that this present difficulty will end. We can have a hope that is steadfast and certain as we look to Jesus and choose His way for our lives. Please help me today to choose Jesus and all that He has for me. Amen.