By David Faust

Rainbows fascinate me. Over the years I have seen little rainbows in the spray of an outdoor fountain and enormous gleaming arcs that tower over the horizon like domes. I have seen rainbows shining above farm fields, church buildings, and airport runways, and once I saw a double rainbow spectacularly suspended above the Grand Canyon.

Most of us don’t see rainbows every day, but they are common enough that it’s tempting to take them for granted. The dictionary blandly defines a rainbow as “an arch of colors formed in the sky . . . caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun’s light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere.” While such a definition is technically correct, where is the wonder in it? Judy Garland became famous for her rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It’s hard to imagine her singing, “Somewhere Over the Water Droplets’ Refracted Light.”

Do you realize that rainbows are rarely seen at midday? (To produce a rainbow sunlight needs to strike the raindrops at an angle.) Do you know that rainbows can appear at night? (They are called moonbows.) While best known for their seven colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet), do you realize that rainbows actually contain a continuum of more than a million colors, most of which the naked eye cannot detect?

Divine Artistry

God bestowed on human beings a unique capacity for wonder. He created us in his image, and that includes the ability to be creative ourselves and to appreciate God’s handiwork. Stirrings in the human heart transcend what raw science can explain.

Is music merely a series of notes written on a page, played and sung at certain decibels of volume? Why do certain songs move us to tears? Is food merely a combination of calories, fat grams, vitamins, and minerals? Something more profound than nourishing our bodies happens when families gather around the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day.

A nonbeliever insists, “I only trust what science can demonstrate,” but no test-tube can capture the love he feels for his wife and kids. The human body itself is a marvel, but the emotions, hopes and dreams, moral and spiritual impulses, and sense of humor that make us human are difficult to explain if you don’t believe in God. Science is a God-given tool, but it shouldn’t be our master.

“God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20). From the vast reaches of outer space to the mysterious ocean depths, from the grandeur of mountains, forests, and glaciers to the intelligence imbedded in DNA, the Creator has surrounded us with divine artistry that arouses our curiosity and awe.

So never lose your sense of wonder. Cultivate it. Pause and ponder it when you gaze at a rainbow, cuddle a baby, savor a tasty meal, witness a baptism, or feel inspired by beautiful music. These moments remind us of God’s faithfulness. They lift our vision and increase our longing for Heaven.

God told Noah, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:13). Every moment of every day, there’s a rainbow visible somewhere on this planet. Let the wonder continue.

David Faust serves as the Associate Minister at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2013, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.

As you apply today’s Scripture study to everyday life, read Engage Your Faith by David Faust and the correlating Evaluation Questions.