Full Circle

Larry Mancini

 

“This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you

 and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant

between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth

and the rainbow appears in the clouds.”

(Genesis 9:12-14)

 

Someone told me that from a perspective high above the earth, a rainbow in the sky is a circle, not an arch. It is a circular thing—a ring from heaven. To us it is an arch in the sky. To Him it is a circle. It is continuous; it is complete; it is beautiful; it has no end.

 

God remembers. He keeps his promises. He sees things from a different perspective than we do. To paraphrase St. Paul, “We see in part.” God sees the whole. We see only a portion of a rainbow. God sees it all. We see God’s design in a rainbow. That’s because the Designer designed it. It was his idea. In that “part” that we see are included the promises of God. Let me ask a question: Were those promises intended only for the folks who received them thousands of years ago? Hardly. God said that his covenant was “for all generations to come.” And he said when we see the rainbow in the clouds, we can be reminded of the covenant God made to the earth and its inhabitants—you and me.

 

When God looks at you, he sees a complete picture. He sees a story with a beginning and an ending. He sees it all. We only see a fraction of our lives. It is still out ahead of us. Someday we will see how it ends. God already knows how it will turn out. And he likes what he sees.

 

Friend, look up. Look forward. Imagine what it will be like to see Jesus. As the songwriter said,

 

“What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see,

And I look upon His face—the One who saved me by His grace.

When he takes me by the hand and leads me thro’ the promised land,

What a day, glorious day that will be.”

 

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the rainbow. It reminds me of everything beautiful and pure and good. It reminds me that your plan for me is being worked out, but that it is not finished yet. I look forward to the day it will be finished—the day I see Jesus and the promised land you have created for me. Let me praise you today. I’m looking up…and forward. Amen.

Today’s guest writer is Rev. Larry Mancini, a New York pastor.