There it was. I haven’t seen one in a long time. OK, maybe in a Lucky Charms box, but not in the Okinawa skies. A rainbow! Annabelle and I were on our way home this morning and between the spitting rain showers, the sun came out igniting the partial rainbow. I had forgotten how spying one makes me feel like a kid once again. I had forgotten how rare they were until I saw it displayed in its glory. I smiled. A rainbow. There are very few things now a day that connect us directly with scripture. The rainbow I saw today was a direct descendent of the one that God threw into the sky over two millennium ago that promised Noah the Lord will never break his covenant with us about destroying the world with water ever again. It tells us that the Lord is a God that will never break covenant with His children.
I needed that reminder.
Many of you know that a dear friend of ours got into a bike accident last week. She was found unconscious and taken to a nearby hospital. She is still in the hospital with severe head trauma and a broken pelvis and we have been told that her recovery will be long. Her faithful and loving family have been by her side, and her brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world have been praying for her healing and peace for her family. I needed the reminder that the Lord who was faithful to Noah, will be faithful to them. His character has not changed and they can trust that He sees their needs and hurts just as He has for all time.
I needed that reminder.
Barrett got notice that his unit was deploying early to beat a category 4 typhoon that is coming here to Okinawa. Families all over the island scurried to say their goodbyes and take their loved ones to the massive gray cold ships. Its never an easy time to say goodbye, especially when Annabelle asks for “dadda” and looks at me with her big eyes. Our covenantal Lord that was faithful to Noah and his decedents will be faithful to our separated family. He gave Noah a rainbow to remind Noah of his promise and I see that rainbow and am reminded that this same God will be faithful to us during this time.
We need that reminder.
I know that the rainbow has been secularized, but its true meaning has roots that we can trust for all time. This covenant not only promised Noah that the God of the universe would never destroy the world with water again, it also promised a future Delieverer that would take God’s wrath for sin for all time. The results of the curse of sin are seen by the tear stained eyes of a loving family holding the hand of a wife and mom wanting her to respond to their chatter. The results of the curse of sin cause families to separate due to wars and threats of war. But the hope of the rainbow reminds us that Christ came to take the wrath of the bow, give us His righteousness and an eternity with no war, with no pain, with no accidents.