Rainbows

It happened again this morning.. .a little after 5:00 a.m. There was not another, single vehicle on Highway 12 in north central Idaho, and spread halfway across the western sky was a huge, breathtaking, gorgeous rainbow. Too bad there were so few to observe and enjoy it... but I did... and the wheels began to turn.

A rainbow has so many applications that can be drawn from it: beauty, glory, color, uniqueness, splendor and many, many other descriptions.

What impressed my mind, however, was not its extravagant beauty, but that it did not belong to any human being, but could be enjoyed by all who observed. My mind traveled to the four quadrants of earth and those
of my earthling brothers and sisters who lived in all of them. Rich or poor, known or unknown, educated or not, recognized or not, religious or not, of every and all ethnicities, every eye has the unspeakable benefit of seeing a rainbow.

The Bible declares that a rainbow has one, singular purpose (SEE Genesis 9:15 & 16), and this is that God, the Creator of all things heavenly and earthly, will never again destroy the earth by water (as occured during the great flood of Noah's time). It is God's promise, and it is indescriminately given to ALL of earth's human inhabitants whether they love and serve God or not.

B-U-T this is not the end of "the story of the rainbow". At first look, it would seem to suggest that the Creator of the rainbow is offering clemancy to all and any human inhabitant, however they live or whatever they do, and whether they submit to this gracious Creator or not. There is more "rainbow" in God's Word, and it is discovered in The Revelation 4:2b &3, which states:

"...behold a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
"And He Who sat was to look upon like a jasper and sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald".

This is God's judgment time for earthlings, and when it occurs, the time of salvation will have been passed. It is interesting that... until this very moment!... rainbows are not again mentioned... but they appear prior to this time to us humans periodically... to remind us of God's promise.

Centuries and millennia pass...and now and again we see a rainbow..reminding us that what God promises, He will not forget. When it is judgment time - when mercy and offers and reminders are past... another rainbow will appear... over and around God's judgment throne..reminding us that...

...what God promises, He will keep! He will save the righteous, and doom the wicked.

If you read this, and are not prepared to stand before God, I urge you to "seek the Lord while He may be found, and turn to Him while you can...".

E-M-P-T-Y

"Empty" is not always negative...but usually. It usually gives us the idea of being without.

Probably there is not a person alive, having lived into his thirties or forties, who has not experienced several times when he has been "empty". Sometimes we merely feel this way, and sometimes it is a fact.

All who are even moderately familiar with the stories of the Bible easily recall the story of Ruth. Oddly, one wonders why the book is entitled "Ruth"? It is as much a story of Naomi - and it could be argued - more, about Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law. As briefly as possible, here are the aspects of the story.

Elimelech, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, leave the land of Israel because of a severe famine, and travel down to over to Moab which evidently had not been affected by the dearth. While there, Elimelech dies, the two sons marry Moabite women, and after ten years of childless marriage, both of the two sons die, leaving three widows: Naomi, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi learns that the famine is over in Israel, and tells her two daughters-in-law that she is going to return alone to her homeland.

Orpah eventually agrees to remain in Moab with her family, while Ruth will not hear to Naomi making that long, heartbroken journey alone. When they arrive "back home" (Bethlehem), here arises the idea of "being empty", as we read in Ruth 1:20 & 21:

"And she said unto (her relatives and friends in Bethlehem), Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me, "I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again"empty" (there is that word): why call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me".

We cannot help but wonder how Ruth felt about being refered to as "empty". It was obvious that all Naomi saw in Ruth was another mouth to feed, another person for whom she must be responsible. The next few days and weeks would prove Naomi not only to be terribly mistaken about Ruth and her potential good, but would actually be Naomi's livelihood ticket, would give her more than enough "children and grandchildren", but would forever credit her with providing a golden future, eventually being in the bloodline of King David, and Jesus, the Messiah and Redeemer.

It is a lesson for each follower of God to learn. God can - and often does - take our "empty" situations and turn them into far greater benefits for us and others than we ever could have if left to our own methods.

The catch is not knowing that our "empty situations" are actually being worked out by the Lord. Because of this, and the frequent long, frustrating, discouraging years elapsed, we are wise to place, and leave, our "empty" times and feelings in His wonderful wisdom and timing. One things is certain from this story. The Orpahs are forgotten, while the Ruths become bright and shining stars.

The Legacy of the Soul

Isaiah 64:4: "For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for them who waiteth for Him."

"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
was not spoken of the soul."
(Longfellow)

Somewhere... somewhere... somewhere... the human soul will ever exist. The soul of us is the real us... the person - though not visible to the human eye - is who we are. We are not primarily a physical body, for it is limited by time and physique.

And every cemetery declares it to be true.

The real person is (1) what he thinks, (2) what he decides, (3) what (or who) controls him, (4) what he is and does when no one else can see him, (5) what (or Who) determines his values, and (6) what (or Who) determines his actions.

The Bible declares the soul of humankind (SEE Genesis 2:7) to be a distinct, unprecedented, totally new entity. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground (physical body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (the spirit of humankind); and man became a living soul." There never had been "a soul" before. None of the myriad heavenly creatures God had previously created "had a soul". It is an entity peculiar and specific to humankind.

When God said in Genesis 1:26, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness..." the inference is strong that He was saying, "Let Us do something different from any previous creature we have created. Before, none has been created in Our image, after Our likeness. This being will have a soul...none before has had a soul."

Any grade school student knows that there is something amazingly unique about earthlings. As far as we know, earth's human inhabitants are the only universal creatures like us.

This strongly infers that our Creator has a unique and specific plan for us. What is the legacy of the human soul? (The Bible being its own best commentary), it is that we should be in His image.

Before there were creatures of any kind, or matter of any kind, God planned for His human creation to be like Him, and this likeness can be explained in dozens of ways. What is critical is that this gracious, benevolent Creator carved out of Himself a place, a niche, a specific and personal place for each one of us. It is reserved of and within Himself just for each human soul. He planned for each human soul to experience a personal, different, specific, eternal relationship with Him that no other human soul would or could have.

He provides this very personal experience to each of us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world...to life life just as we do...and offer Himself a once for all sacrifice for our sins. By a simple act of totally trusting in that Calvary sacrifice by His Son, each of us can enter in to the legacy of our souls.

I invite anyone reading these lines to call, e-mail, or write me, and I would be happy to explain God's plan of salvation.

W. L. Boone
P.O. Box 2487
Orofino, ID 83544
lesboone @ juno.com
(208) 746-5327

It Happened Again...

For the unmpteenth time, I managed to run a sharp sliver into one of my fingers. Thus unpleasant experience cannot be avoided however careful a carpenter is.

The idea is to get all of it out during the initial probing, poking and digging. First you try to get ahold of it with the ever-present pocket knife, and then carefully pull that beggar out in the same direction it went in. Then you hope you got it all.

If you did not, three results occur: one, it will continue to be tender; two, it will form a callous-like covering over the skin's attempt to heal; and three, it will not heal. Two, additional attempts were made to dig that sliver out over the next, few weeks, but to no avail.

Yesterday, with the sharp point of my pocket knife, and sharp pointed tweezers specifically designed for sliver removal, a third attempt was made - all with appropriate, blow-by-blow, verbal comments to she-who-must-be-obeyed of the painful procedure...but again to no avail.

"It has to be in there", I observed, "for it will not heal". She casually observed that I should try soaking it "like that other deep one you had at camp meeting". (That one refused the unsuccessful efforts of two ER surgeons who both agreed "that there cannot be a sliver in there." I knew better. I could feel it, and it would not heal. It ultimately shot out of its "silo" like a rocket after I had finished a couple of hours washing dishes at camp meeting.)

As it is said, "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Since it was already opened and bleeding, I sat for fifteen minutes or so soaking that finger. Then, with some vigorous squeezing, there it was - about a quarter of an inch long offense sitting and exposed like a beached whale. In one day and night, it felt fine and had begun to heal.

Sin - either commited or inborn -is as foreign to the soul as slivers are to the body, and it will continue to give us pain and grief until it is removed by God's remedy - the shed blood of Jesus Christ. God knew that we needed a Savior from the soul's evil intruder, and provides salvation from sin through His forgiveness and cleansing. When the "sliver" is out, healing can start.