The Rainbow Is A Sign Of Hope!

This is an excerpt from 'The Sunday Star' newspaper last weekend that I've found refreshing and enlightening!

"Once upon a time, the colors of the world started to quarrel. All of them claimed that they were the best. The most important. The most useful. The favourite.

Green said: “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all the animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

Blue interrupted: “You only think about the earth. Consider the sky and the sea. It is water, drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea, that is the basis of life. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.”

Yellow chuckled: “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me, there would be no fun.”

Orange was the next to blow her trumpet: “I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes and papayas! I don’t hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.”

Red could no longer stand it so he shouted out: “I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood – life’s blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.”
 
Purple rose up to his full height; he was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”

Finally, Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me, all of you become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

And so the colors continued to boast, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarrelling became louder and louder. Suddenly, there was a startling flash of lightning. Thunder rolled and boomed and rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamour, rain began to speak: “You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves and trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.” With heads bowed, the colors reached out to each other. Rain continued: “From now on, whenever it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.”

And so, after a good shower has washed the world and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another and learn to live in peace!"

For people of faith, the rainbow is a sign of our hope in God, the compassionate and merciful One who will never give up on us. The rainbow reminds us of God's covenant with Noah after the flood where He promised never to destroy the world and His people by setting the bow in the skies.

God says in Genesis 9:11-17,
"With these words I make my covenant with you: I promise that never again will all living beings be destroyed by a flood; never again will a flood destroy the earth. As a sign of this everlasting covenant which I am making with you and with all living beings. I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world. Whenever I cover the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears, I will remember my promise to you and to all the animals that a flood will never again destroy all living beings. When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between me and all living beings on earth. That is the sign of the promise which I am making to all living beings."