Neon Rainbow

It was one of those blustery, showery days. Brilliant blue sky one minute; lowering black clouds the next. Walking back from watering my neighbour’s greenhouse plants while she is on holiday, I saw the foundational arc of a rainbow planting itself in one of the golden, harvested fields near our home.

As I watched in amazement, the rainbow completed the arc and then grew in intensity until the colours were truly neon. And above it stretched a second rainbow, paler and less vibrant, but complete as well. I just stood transfixed while I watched this show in the sky, a gift from God, and gave him the glory.

I know there are weather-related reasons for rainbows, but God made the weather, too, and when I see such a glorious sight as that rainbow, my heart beats faster with joy and gratitude to God for this world in which we live. I remember that the rainbow is the sign of God’s promise that never again will he wipe out the world in a cataclysmic flood.

I am grateful that I live in a rural location, where I am more aware of the wonders of nature. In the book of Romans, Paul argues that those who don’t know about God can see him in his handiwork, but I wonder about those poor children living on garbage dumps in Brazil or Mozambique or inner city squalor in Los Angeles or London. Where do they look to see God’s glory?

 Hopefully, in the faces of Christians there to help them.