And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:16
The everlasting covenant, we read, is between God and every living creature of all flesh. The covenant decrees that the earth will never flood again, will never again destroy humankind.
After celebrating Jillian's birthday at her favorite Pho restaurant, we drove back to her home. It was an evening of celebration and joy in the company of our precious daughter and her husband. As we returned, the rainbow shined brilliantly in the sky. As we rounded the mountain, the rainbow stayed with us. Every few minutes, we saw it from a different angle. It turned from one strand, to a double rainbow, then into a full arch.
A rainbow is a beautiful manifestation. Its vibrant colors of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red cause me to pause and wonder... When I see a rainbow, I am captured by its utter magic. Within that magic, I think of God's promise. But I don't think specifically of God's promise to Noah. The flood, metaphorical or not, was so long ago, was for a people so culturally strange and distant from my experience, that when I see God's covenant rainbow, I equate it to my time, my circumstances.
When I look at God's covenant, I think of his promises specific to me. Eternal life. Eternal life with my family.
A covenant binds. It is a seal between two or more parties. It is a pledge to fulfill a promise. I believe in a covenant between God and me.
It's why, if possible, I will order pizza on Saturday night for Sunday's lunch, even when my children call me extreme and would prefer pizza fresh made to order. It's why we will search out a church service in a foreign country and take a taxi or a bus to find the building. It's why we're careful to pay tithing on our income. It's the reason I will keep trying to keep the covenants to which I am weak.
All of these actions are part of a covenant. When I keep my half, God keeps his.
But God's covenants are never fair. Never balanced. His covenants always tip the scale. The few ounces of gold I give are paid back in pounds and tons.
Covenants are a blue chip investment. They have a AAA rating.
If you have any doubt, measure the beauty in a rainbow.
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