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.
Thank you for sharing, truly loving, caring words. A joy to have been able to receive.
The bible describes the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as light. Jesus is called the light of the world. The rainbow is refracted light that is split into three primary colors that overlap to form all the colors of the rainbow. The three primary colors are Red, Blue, and Yellow. Romans 1:20 says God’s attributes are clearly seen in his creation. Some reject the idea of God as a trinity, yet the inspired word and the physical creation tell us that God is indeed three in one. All matter in the Universe is made of atoms with three distinct charges. (Protons. Electrons, and Nutrons). Jesus described the Holy Spirit as like the wind. All the elements can can take the form of three different states. Solid, Liquid, and Gas. For example: Liquid water can freeze into solid ice, or be turned to steam. Another example of three in the creation is the snowflake. All snowflakes have six sides. Scientists discovered that all snowflakes have two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Like the trinity; the three in one are attracted to one another causing the six sides to form in of every snowflake. God’s attributes are clearly seen in his creation.