RAINBOWS AND CROSSES
GENESIS 9:8 16; JOHN 13:31 38
All of you have seen a rainbow at some time in your life, right? Well, rainbows are not just pretty, frivolous outcomes of a rain shower. They are visual signs that God has given us another chance.
The story of the rainbow in Genesis pictures Noah coming out of a time of catastrophe. The flood had covered the known world of Noah. It had drowned his acquaintances and his plans...but not his hope. Noah's hope was not in anything that could be covered by the water...his hope was in the Creator of the water.
I discovered something very interesting...the word rainbow in Genesis is the same word used for a warrior's bow. The symbolism of the rainbow is that God has hung up his bow in the clouds. It's as if God had said, "I'm not angry anymore. I'm through fighting. See, I'm hanging up my bow." This bow in the sky is a sign of hope.
Some of you have experienced enormous changes. You've seen a world war and many other conflicts. You've lived through the development of the atomic bomb. You lived through the turbulent 60's when it seemed that society was being torn apart. Many of you have had disruptive experiences in your own lives. You've faced death, pain, loss of jobs, financial strain, rebellious children....and on and on we could go.
That's why it is comforting to hear Noah speak of the dependability of God's creation. Yes, the flood has come...but now it is gone. Now is the time to take what we have and get back into rhythm. In any crisis, we can and should be sustained by our hope in the Lord...the same Lord who hangs his rainbow in the sky and says, "I care about you."
God's promise of his love and care sustains us even though we don't always deserve it. You don't read very far into Genesis before you see Noah getting drunk and making a fool of himself. God could have said, "If that's the way you're going to act, I'll withdraw my promise of care."
He could have done that, but He didn't. God always keeps His promises. And the fact of the matter is He intensified the promise. Many years after Noah, Jesus came along and brought a new and better covenant. It reaffirmed everything said to Noah...but it went deeper. This is a time for rainbows...but there is a responsibility that falls on us. Read John 13:31 35
I heard of a science fiction story about invaders from outer space that is a little out of the ordinary. Instead of shooting up the place with freeze rays or nuking half the planet, these invaders set up devices all over the globe that render all guns, bombs, tanks, planes and other implements of war inoperable, along with all electrical devices.
When the invaders place their demands, all they want is for the nations of the earth to stop fighting each other. From that point on, earth will have to be a community of love. Now, this is way too simple, of course. We won't solve the problems of our planet by waiting to be invaded by friendly aliens.
If we want to make this a community of love, we must do it ourselves. We have to reach down into our hearts and draw upon all the love that's there...and really start loving each other with the love of Christ. We can build the community of love if we try...can't we?
To tell you the truth, No! Actually, history is littered with our attempts to do just that. But we can't seem to sustain the effort to keep it going. And it's no surprise, really. Look at the episode that we read about in John. Jesus had been with these people for three years... teaching, doing miracles, showing them the inner nature of God in everything he did.
But Judas, one of Jesus' own chosen disciples, was so controlled by the forces of darkness that he betrayed Jesus to his enemies. He lived with the light of the world for 3 years...but was still overcome by evil. Peter, the strongest personality of them all, claims to be willing to lay down his life for Christ. If Jesus is going to die...then so will Peter.
But what happened? Peter lost his nerve and failed. And the rest of the disciples simply scattered. Not one of them spoke in his defense at His trial. And even after He was killed, not one of them even made an attempt to give him a proper burial. Think about that for a minute.
Jesus was the greatest teacher that ever lived. He poured himself into these men for 3 years of intensive study. He showed God and God's will more clearly than the world had ever seen it before. Yet this community of men began to dissolve even before Jesus died. No wonder we can't build the community of love on our own.
It takes a power greater than ours to do it. It takes an invasion of sorts, not of Martians, but of God's supernatural power in Christ. Jesus had been claiming all along to show that power and glory in his teaching and his miracles. Now He claims that his death will show the same thing. And that's the most amazing thing about the cross.
What was once the symbol of the most inhumane torture so called civilized man has ever inflicted on man...has now become a symbol of the greatest triumph in the history of mankind. The cross became a symbol of life and hope. And a symbol of a new community too.
After Jesus tells them He will die and show God's glory, he gives them a new commandment. Look at verses 34 35 Read...
This was a new commandment...but not new in the sense that God was urging his people to love each other for the first time. That was a part of the Old Testament. It's a new commandment because it's the very foundation for the church. This new community of believers would be famous for their love for each other. It's what would mark them as Christ's disciples.
After changing the cross into the door to God's power, an amazing transformation occurred in the disciples. Peter, who wanted to lay down his life for Christ but lost his nerve, preached for Jesus in the city of Rome during the time of Nero...and was crucified for his faith.
Though we don't know for sure what happened to the other disciples, we do know they went to their deaths defending the gospel. They, and those who followed them, were so obviously filled with God's power that within 300 years the very empire that crucified Jesus became Christian.
The question for us to answer is this...which group are we most like? How closely do we resemble the community of love that Jesus commissioned us to be? Do people know we are Christ's followers because of the way we love each other?
The rainbow and the cross...I believe it's time for us to think of these two symbols, and then begin to do everything in our power to make this church a community of love and unity. We'll never do it by our own power...but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we most assuredly can.
One last thing I need to tell you...this is not optional! At least not if we want to keep our relationship with the Lord. In Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount...Jesus clearly said that before you go to the altar of God, you must first make sure your relationships with each other are right.
In fact it says if you know someone has something against you...make it right or you will be wasting your time trying to enter God's presence.
I'm not saying that you have to work out every detail of disagreement...but there must be forgiveness and restoration of broken relationships if there is ever going to be a bond of Christian love and unity.
