Caves & Rainbows

I jumped on my bike today thinking about my friend Rob who hasn't been able to ride much lately due to cancer and getting hit by a truck. My Sunday School verse accompanied me:

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who
promised is faithful."

As I made the turn at my halfway point, it started to downpour. While parts of me thought "How can I get home fastest", the rest of me was amazed that I was not only feeling the chill of the rain, but also the warmth of the sun, with bright rays shining on my side. Rather than dread a soggy ride home, I took it all in.

My 3rd-grader will tell you that when you have sun and rain, you have the ingredients for one of our earthly wonders: a rainbow. When I glanced left, sure enough there was a huge rainbow.

For the rest of my ride my mind processed everything that was going on: Rob, my verse, the rainbow.

While occasionally people think about the cleansing nature of rain, it is most often compared to bad things that happen. Few people want to 'be in the rain' (my U8 soccer team is an exception). The struggles that we encounter - like cancer, trucks, and many other things - are the downpours in our life.

As earthly men, we are taught by books like "Mars is for Men" that when men have problems, they head into their cave to solve their problems. This may get men out of the rain, but it is more often running away from the issues.

As Christian men, we know there will be struggles. Instead of heading into our caves, spurning our friends and family to solve our world's problems, we need to learn to 'hold unswervingly to the hope'. Is our faith just a hedge bet in case Heaven is real, or are we embracing the abundance He promises, regardless of the floods we might endure?

For me and my house, we will follow the example that my friend Rob has recently lived out: stand tall in the rain, with Christ's love and strength supporting us, shining bright through the rain. When we do that we become for others one of God's wonders on earth.

When we see someone wet and cold from the rain, yet smiling because of their hope in Christ's promises, they become a rainbow: a reminder of the promise, a reminder that with Christ we can stand in any downpour.

Thanks Rob for showing us the rainbow!