Christian Living
Pretty Rainbows-Shattered Dreams
Have you ever chased pretty rainbows? If you are wondering what do I mean by “pretty rainbows”, well, from my standpoint, pretty rainbows are all of our endeavors; our desires.
Certainly, we all have chased pretty rainbows at some point in our lives. As a matter of fact, we probably will chase pretty rainbows until the day we die, and there is nothing wrong with that.
The issue is how do we, as Christians, chase pretty rainbows? Do we include God as we attempt our quest for pretty rainbows? Or do we give the quest priority over God and forget that he even exists?
If you are in the midst of chasing pretty rainbows, may I suggest that you slow down while you can and remember that you have a God and a jealous one too. He made this very clear in his Ten Commandments, “thou shalt have no other Gods before me”. Whatever your endeavor is, please, please do not make it an idol.
Include God in all of your affairs and make sure that he is first. We need God significantly in our lives, because without him we can accomplish nothing. Look at it this way, we are all subordinate clauses (can’t stand alone or make sense without the main clause; God). Everything we have comes from the Lord; (Psalms 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof”) and nothing will be able to change that fact.
It is not an option. We are God’s creation and in the end, we certainly will have to face God. Be a fool and disregard him if you like, but he will never vanish. His qualities and authority as the only true God will not diminish nor will he fall off his throne just because you have chosen strange Gods above him. He will always be the one and only true God. The sooner you realize this, the better.
God is faithful and he will never fail us! His love and mercies will never come to an end. He will always be there for us when all of our strange Gods have failed. Can any other God or Pretty Rainbow do that? Impossible!
The following is a concise fictional narrative of what becomes of our aspirations or “Pretty Rainbows” when we overlook God. It also reassures us of the unceasing and steadfast love of God:
THE JOB
You know the job that I had, the one that I respected more than God; the one that I would go to whether I felt tired or not; would skip my morning prayers just to be on time for; the one that had me so tired that I could not attend Bible study at all? I also skipped church on Sundays just to do extra work at the office. Well, after all of that, I lost the job anyway.
THE CAREER
You remember the career that I was seeking, and nothing else mattered? Not even God. Well, after all, it was to no avail. After
I graduated, I couldn’t even find a job in that field. I’m now earning minimum wage just to survive.
THE CAR
You know the car that I was saving all of my money to buy that I refused to tithe or make donations to the church for? Well, I had the car for only a month and then it was totaled from the terrible accident I had.
THE GUY
You remember the guy I was seeing and would go out of my way to please; even compromise my Christian principles, and gradually dumped church and bible study for? Well, eventually, he dumped me.
THE FRIEND
You remember that good friend of mine; the one that I would talk to endlessly on the phone; hang out with and disregard my quiet time for; the one that I was too ashamed to mention Jesus to? Well she wasn’t there when I needed her; she disappointed me. After I had confided in her and told her about my troubles, she was the one spreading the details of my dilemma to everyone.
THE HUSBAND
You know the man I married; the one that I was unequally yoked with; the one our Pastor warned me not to marry; the one, whom I turned against the church and the Pastor for? Well, the Pastor was right, after we were married for only a month; he turned out to be the champion of all jerks.
THE TRUE & CONSTANT FRIEND
Well, I have some news for you. It is quite the contrary to what I have just told you. Do you know that man; the man that the bible portrays as the one who was without sin; who healed the sick and raised the dead; who loved you and me so much that he sacrificed his life to give us eternal life?
Are you baffled by what I have just said? Well, let me go in depth: I am talking about the Son of God! The Commander of the Hosts of Heaven! The great I am! The one who is, and who was, and who is to come! The First and The Last! The one who holds the key to life and death! The one who is coming in his glory and every eye shall see him as he is!
Yes, he is the one; the only friend who remained after everyone and everything else failed me. He was there all the time and I did not even care. Oh what a fool I’ve been.
His name is Jesus. The one whom I rejected, offended and crucified over and over again. Yes, Jesus! The only one who truly cared for me. You see, with all of his authority and majesty, he stooped low to someone like me and heard my cry of despair.
In spite of everything, I realized that he is a true friend indeed. When I was crushed and broken and my spirit was so low, I needed a true friend to lean on, but could find no one. Then I remembered him; the one who had promised never to leave me nor forsake me. Heartbroken, I cried out his name, Jesus! Jesus! My rock of refuge; my true and constant friend! I had not spoken his name in years, but out of desperation, I did; remembering his promise never to leave me.
You see for the manner of man he is, with so much power and authority, in order to talk to him, I did not have to make an appointment; I did not get penciled in; neither was I put on a waiting list. When I called on him, I did not get a busy signal; neither was I told to press 1 or 2 for more options. My call was not screened and I did not get thrown into his voice mail.
My call went directly to him. It was his direct line! Incredible! How did someone like me get access to his direct line? Oh, the mercy of God!
It did not matter what time of the day or night it was; neither did it matter to him that I had not called in years. He answered on the first ring, and that’s not all; he called me by my name (he even remembered me??!!) and said, “I’ve waited a long time for this call”. Why did you take so long?
Right from the start he anticipated my return. Like in the story of the Prodigal Son; the father watched and longed for his son to come home, even though the son had broken his heart. When the son did return, he was not angry, instead, he celebrated.
In the midst of my useless quest, I could not hear Jesus call me. Neither could I feel his longing for me. How could I? I was too busy chasing pretty rainbows. I did not have the time to slow down and listen to his call for me to come home. I knew that I was hurting him but I could not help myself, as I had lost my spiritual vision and was out of control. I was too busy putting that job before him, that career, that guy, that best friend, that husband and everything else before him.
After the way I had treated him, yet he longed to hear from me. He heard my cry in the midst of all of the worthy cries that went up to him. He stopped everything to listen to my sad story…..you know the kind that you just can’t find the strength to tell anyone; not even your best friend.
Even while I rejected him, he never let go of my hand. He did not only hold my hand when I was scared, abandoned and confused, but he carried me when I was disabled as a result of my self-inflicted wounds; the unnecessary hurt and distress I brought upon myself.
I don’t understand; he was always there for me. Even though I turned my back on him; yet, all he ever felt for me was love and compassion. I will never understand why Jesus loves me so.
All in all, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” but giving the pursuit of “pretty rainbows” precedence over God and his will for you will consequently yield disaster and shattered dreams. Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it”. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain”.
Arway Sayeh-Swepson – 2005
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