03 1 / 2011
Rain, Rainbows and Grace
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-16
I am NOT a big fan of rain! Let me type that one more time. I am NOT a big fan of rain!
In fact, because of rain (and snow), it took me a ridiculous 10 hours to drive to LA when it should’ve only taken 5 hours. By the end of this long, long trip, I concluded that 1) I hate rain, 2) the Honda Navigation System is retarded, and 3) I hate rain. For those of you who can’t sympathize with me, let me briefly summarize why driving in the rain sucks. 1) Your windshield gets owned by the cars in front of you and especially by the cars driving on the other side of the road, 2) it’s difficult to see the lines on the road, and 3) you are driving in a constant state of stress because you are either afraid of your car losing control or someone else losing control of their car (in my trip alone, I saw more than 10 cars totaled). Even beyond the frustration of driving in the rain, rain itself is rather of an annoyance to me. I recognize that rain is necessary, but let me share one reason why it sucks! When it rains, it gets our shoes wet. When our shoes are wet, our socks will get wet. When our socks are wet, every step we take makes those annoying squishy sounds. At the end of the day when we take off our socks, OUR FEET STINK LIKE NO OTHER! I hate that nasty smell. haha.
Clearly, I despise rain with a passion, BUT I always forget about what comes after the rain. Rainbows. Words cannot express or describe the beauty that is found in rainbows, but there is something more beautiful and something more extravagant than just the vivid colors that we see. That something more is grace. God’s grace that is. Rainbows are a direct symbol of God’s grace not only to Noah and his family, but also to us. For those of us who live in southern California, rain is somewhat of a rare occasion and something we are not overly influenced by, but we must remember that God’s promises still hold true. His promises are everlasting and cannot be broken. When it starts to rain, we don’t really think that the entire world will flood. That is correct. The world will never flood again. Not because it is scientifically impossible or beyond our common sense, but because of God’s grace and His promise to us that He won’t. God promises us many things such as restoration, peace, joy, hope, love, and so many other good things that he has planned for us. His grace and His promises reign true, not just for a moment, but for eternity. Believe it, for it is true. It was proven once and for all on the Cross at Calvary. However, God is also a God of justice and we must believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For without His atoning death, we are lost and have fallen short of His glory.
All in all, I hope that we may see rainbows as something more beautiful than just an array of colors. Let us see and recognize rainbows as indicative of the grace of God that lasts forever! As much as I hate rain, it is my hope that it may rain for a short period of time each and every day. For when it does, rainbows will come forth and I will be able to see a glimpse of God’s grace and His promise. How beautiful and majestic is that sight!
