Do you know what a white rainbow is? Better yet, have you seen one? I haven’t, and I only just learned that they even exist.
White rainbows are sometimes called fogbows. They are like rainbows — light entering water at just the right angle. But the droplets of fog are about 100 times smaller than drops of rain. Because the droplets are so tiny, most of the light is scattered rather than refracted as in a rainbow. As a result, the colours are washed out, leaving a white rainbow.
The combination of light and water and its effect got me to thinking of Jesus as the Light of the world, flowing to and through us.
All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. John 1:3–5 NRSVUE
Neither the rainbow nor the fogbow would exist without the sun (in our case, the Son). We are blessed to live in a constant state of being receivers. We easily forget this and think of ourselves as being doers.
We are God’s children (his drops or droplets), and we receive and reflect his light. In both Ezekiel and Revelation, we find references to the glory of the Lord described as a rainbow. Consider the beauty and glory of God’s determination to finish the work he has started in each of us. I may never see a rainbow again (or a fogbow, if I’m lucky) without thinking of the rainbow beauty of God’s life that he shares with and through me.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for being our light. Spirit, empower us to refract the beauty of God’s love out to others. Amen.
By Ruth Matthews (1951 – 2023)
Adapted from the full article written in 2023.
