There was a rainbow in the sky on the morning I wrote this blog. I am as taken by rainbows now as when I first saw one as a child. Yes, as an adult I know it has to do with the prismatic effect of droplets of water, but it’s still an amazing natural spectacle.

Rainbows have impressed our ancestors for generations. Someone around 3,000 years ago wrote down a story he had heard about Noah and a flood. You remember how at the end of the flood, God says to Noah, “I have sent my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” It’s a lovely scene–the ark with a rainbow over it.

No one told me as a kid how these ancient near-eastern people understood the rainbow. It’s a bow, as in a bow to shoot arrows. This was God’s war bow used to shoot bolts of lightning. Zap! Gotcha! God has hung the rainbow in the heavens so it won’t be used to destroy the human race. When we see the rainbow, we are reminded of God’s promise not to wipe us out. Note: there isn’t any promise that we won’t do it to ourselves, only that God won’t do it to us.

God is not out to get us. God only desires what’s good for us. We may not always like what God does, but it’s always done for our sake. Next time you see a rainbow, remember it as a sign of God’s love.

Read Genesis 9:12-16 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne