Taking Back the Rainbow

June has become recognized in our society as “Pride Month”. Pride in acts and a lifestyle that God condemns in His word, all in the name of “love” and under a symbol that God painted in the sky with His own hands.

I know this article is going to step on some toes (even of people I love very much), but these are words that need to be said and have laid heavily on my heart for years. This is not intended as a jab at them, or meant to point a finger…this is simply the truth, and a much needed call to action for anyone who is ready and willing to hear. So I am going to give you the opportunity now to bow out. If you have no desire to truly listen to these next few paragraphs, do not read any more. The choice is yours, but remember…you have been warned! 😉

Still with me? Good.

The Symbol

Someone once told me that the rainbow was a symbol of love and happiness. This was used in support of the LGBTQ Pride movement. But my God, the One who created this “symbol”, had a different intent in mind:

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” -Genesis 8:13-15

The rainbow wasn’t designed to be a symbol of freedom, love, pride or the LGBTQ movement. God designed it and set it as a covenant between Noah and his descendants forever. Today, the true meaning has been ignored and rainbow colored flags and banners have been waved in defiance of God and His design for marriage, sexuality and gender. This has caused many Christians to shy away from using the rainbow and its colors.

But in doing so, we have taken away the light and stopped speaking the truth for future generations to know.

To many in our world today this symbol stands for: love, pride, happiness, freedom, and acceptance. But how does that measure up to the meaning of those words…and what is really hiding behind the banners and signs?

Pride: Under a banner that GOD CREATED, they take pride in actions and lifestyles that God condemned (Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-27). Actions that bring harm to themselves.

Acceptance: It’s not so much acceptance of them that they desire as it is complete agreement to their beliefs and for others to accept their actions…not just them as people. Yet, they themselves have a hard time accepting others who don’t agree with them.

I will agree, to a certain extent, that the rainbow is a symbol of love…but a very different kind of love than that those who fly the flag promote.

What is Love?

Love. That’s what this whole movement is supposed to be about, right? But what IS love? The meaning of love has been twisted and defined to fit whatever we want it to mean. Love is viewed today as a FEELING. Emotions. This gives me butterflies or a fuzzy feeling. This is what I feel, this is what I want. Love is seen as attraction: I’m attracted to you, so I love you. Love, in many cases, is viewed as following your heart to get what you desire…what’s good for YOU.

But TRUE love…is SO much more! This is what God, the Author of love, says love is:

• Love is sacrifice

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life.” -John 3:16
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” -John 15:13
“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8

• Love is patient and kind

“Love is patient, love is kind; it does not envy, it does not boast; it is not proud…” -1 Corinthians 13:4

• Love is not selfish, but thinks of others

“Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” -1 Corinthians 13:5

• Love finds no pleasure in someone’s sin, but is devoted to the truth

“[Love] does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.” -1 Corinthians 13:6

Contrary to the popular belief and practice, being kind and truly loving someone does NOT mean accepting everything they do and never confronting them or telling them, graciously, that they are wrong. In fact, love is exactly the opposite.

Love is living, speaking and acting all for the greater good of another. For the greater good of their soul. It is not love to let someone live in sin and say nothing. It is not love to watch those you care about do things that are not good for them or could harm them, to watch them go down a destructive path without telling them.

It is not unloving to speak the truth or point out what God says is sin, though we must be careful to speak with the right attitude and intentions. Not out of pride or self-righteousness…but out of a genuine love for truth, others and for God and His word…and a desire for others to know Him.

Is the rainbow a symbol of love and happiness? Love, perhaps…if you think of it as: in His love for us, He spared Noah and his family and promised never to destroy the earth by flood again. But it was only the intro to the greatest love story of all time…

The best symbol of love is the Cross of Jesus Christ…the greatest example of perfect love displayed for all. Of happiness? Happiness is temporary, and perfect happiness is not attainable in this life. Now joy…true joy will last; and the aftermath of the Cross can bring us true joy. See, the story of the rainbow was only the prologue for the true symbol of pure love and joy.

It’s Time to Take Back the Rainbow

When you see a rainbow painted on a bag or a child’s backpack, or as a design on a t-shirt or jewelry…what comes to your mind first: the covenant God established between Himself and mankind? Or does your mind more constantly wander to the ever present “Pride” movement?

I’m grieved to say that my mind goes first to Pride, because that is most likely the intention, and for the majority of my adult years I have been bombarded with it everywhere. When this really sunk in I realized something: Christians failed. We stopped being salt and light. In a world full of darkness, when it needed the truth the most, we hid our light under a bushel. We stopped teaching our children the truth and how to combat evil and shine brighter. We became afraid and retreated into the background, into our own little corner and shut out the world instead of impacting the world for the better. This is the opposite of what we were called to do!

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it fives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” -Matthew 5:14-16

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…” -Ephesians 5:8

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20

We are to teach all that Christ commanded. That includes teaching sin as sin and not shying away from the hard and sensitive subjects. How can we walk as children of light when we are condoning the very things that God called, in Romans 1, vile and debased and evil; or, by our silence, allowing sin to run unconfronted? How can we be a light in a dark world if we run from the darkness and allow the prince of this world to claim what is God’s?

The rainbow is God’s, given as a covenant to Noah and his descendants forever. He designed it, He placed it in the sky, and He decreed the meaning of this symbol. It is time to take it back, turn around and teach others its TRUE meaning.

When people look at the rainbow, in any form, they should associate it with God and His word more so than with taking pride in the sins He hates. Christians, we need to take back the rainbow!

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Hide it under a bushel, No!
I’m gonna let it shine…

Don’t let Satan blow it out,
I’m gonna let it shine…

Let it shine ’til Jesus comes,
I’m gonna let it shine…

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”