Twice the Love

Have you ever seen a double rainbow? Everyone loves to see a rainbow. It's like we are drawn to them, and not for the pot of gold. Something in the human heart seems to yearn for the grace that is signified by that beautiful phenomenon. Makes you long from spring, doesn't it? What is really cool is to see a double rainbow. Wow! When one is reflected into two, and it is just as brilliant as the original, it takes your breath away. It immediately produces an urge to praise.

I was reading in Mark chapter nine, and I was struck by a couple of Biblical rainbows, you know, truth that draws you to praise your creator and savior. Jesus tugged Peter, James, and John on the sleeve of their tunics and pulled them off to a quiet mountainside. They were clueless. But there, Jesus was transfigured. Glory surrounded him. Elijah and Moses showed up for a consultation. The entire scene shouts of glory! Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the glory left.

It is absolutely aweinspiring to meditate on the truth that Jesus, the Son of God, emptied himself of his glory in order to come to this earth. According to Philippians two, he laid it aside, stooped down, and became a man. Incredible,but true! God became a man, walked in the filth of the world without being tainted, and then paid the price of our wretched sin. He died with our punishment! Imagine, from glory to shame, all by an act of love. Are you not inspired?

But he not only did it once, he did it twice. Think about it. That moment of Transfiguration was a repeat, a second act, another emptying. There he was in full blown glory, shinning like the sun (or Son), Ruler of the universe, King of Kings, and then, poof, it was all gone. He laid it down again, and then walked back down the mountain and into the dregs of humanity. I am not only inspired by the thought, I am driven to praise. Can you see how much God loves you? And all he asks in return, is that we lay down our lives for one another and for him. That doesn't mean die, though that could happen. It means to lay aside our own pitiful glory, our self-rule, our carefully laid plans. It means to follow him, love him, glorify the one who actually deserves to be glorified.

So, the next time you see a double rainbow, praise him twice as hard. For he loves you with twice the love the love you originally thought, and more.
Be Blessed,
Pastor Jim