Friday, June 8, 2018

The Bow of the Beginning and End


The Bow of the Beginning and End 
by: Topher Wiles

     “It’s not the destination but the journey that matters.” That sounds like a great old adage to follow, yet we need more to keep us afloat along till we reach our destination.  We need reminders of the beginning and the end.
     Noah steps off that grand ole ark to God’s artistic lightshow in form of the amazing rainbow.  Imagine being a 601 years old adult seeing it for the first time!  Noah had a wonderful fresh start to the journey as we often do in our Christian walk.  Do you remember the time, like Noah, you were “saved through water?”(1 Pet 3:20)  It was an amazing fresh start, wasn’t it!?
For many of us, that fresh start gets muddied & mired with trouble along the way, much like the calamity Noah & Ham found just after the flood. (Gen 9:22)  How many times have we seen Christians on fire with a fresh start only for that blaze to die to a barely visible glowing ember through the rest of their lives?   Yet, the Christian walk doesn’t have to be this way.  We can continue to travel with a brightened and enlightened life filled by focusing on two major points, the beginning and the end.   
     God gives us a view of the Alpha & Omega, beginning & end, in the book of Genesis and Revelation.  To sum up both, you need only remember His rainbow.    
  1. Remember the rainbow as God’s as a fresh start in the first book of the Bible in Genesis 9:13.
  2. Remember that we will see God’s rainbow in all its glory again in Revelation 4:3. 

     That’s right, the rainbow doesn’t show up again in the Bible until John’s vision of heaven where that beautiful bow encircles God’s throne.  How exciting it will be to see that rainbow again with God in the middle of it!   
      “At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.” – Revelation 4:2-3
     From these two rainbows in scripture, we are reminded of our beautiful fresh start and our glorious hope to come when we finally see Jesus.  God purposefully puts His rainbow only in the beginning and end of the Bible to give us sweet reminders of where we’ve come from as well as our coming hope to give us motivation along the way.  May God bless you with sweet remembrances on your journey. 

    May the hope of heaven help you to live today for Jesus!