Gold at End of Rainbow

It was springtime 1945. After a rain, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky. Nine years old, I was sitting on the back porch talking with granddaddy Powell. I asked granddaddy if the rainbow had an ending. He replied, “Legend has it that a pot of gold lies at the end of the rainbow. ‘Hot dog!’ I thought, ‘I will follow that rainbow and find some gold. Then our family will be rich!’

Before the rainbow faded, I quickly walked westward from our Perry home at 800 Ball Street to Jernigan Street. Once on Jernigan, on my left was George C. Nunn’s Tractor and Farm Implement business and on my right was the Cotton Gin where granddaddy served as foreman. Onward to the railroad tracks running south to north, I passed Tolleson’s Lumber Company on my left and then Evergreen Cemetery. After reaching the front gate of the cemetery, I walked down the hill to the Standard Oil Station operated by Quillar Mathews (husband of grandmother Powell’s sister, Ellen). Once there, in view was the highway 41 bridge that spanned Big Indian Creek. I glanced up at the rainbow and realized I had made no progress in closing in on the rainbow’s end. In fact, the farther I walked, the further the rainbow shifted backwards. I became disappointed and returned home. I dearly loved my granddaddy. Oh, how I miss him! May God grant me the wish to see my granddaddy again so we can sit on the back porch in heaven and talk.  

Later, I learned that the Leprechaun’s pot of gold at end of rainbow came from Greek mythology.  The mythical leprechaun is depicted as a diminutive old man dressed in green, wearing an apron and with silver buckles on his shoes. I also concluded the rainbow had no end. The rainbow consists of water droplets in the sky reflecting sunlight.  Its colors are disbursed according to Isaac Newton’s sevenfold colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (ROY G. BIV). The arc of the rainbow comprises only a section of a circle. In actuality, the rainbow never touches the earth.

Following the Great Flood, God placed a rainbow in the sky. The rainbow represented (1) “God’s Covenant with Noah” and His descendants (you and me)–the Creator promised never again to destroy the world with a flood. God made four additional covenants with humanity: (2) Abrahamic Covenant – Genesis 12, (3) Mosaic Covenant – Exodus 19-24, (4) Davidic Covenant – 2 Samuel 7, and the (5) New Covenant – Jeremiah 31, verses 31-34. The fifth and last covenant culminated with the coming of the Savior: Jesus Christ (read chapters 8, 9, and 10 of Hebrews). 

During Moses’ era, sin was atoned for by animal sacrifices (Leviticus, chs 4, 5. 6, 7). However, sin only increased. This necessitated repeated animal sacrifices.   As a result, God issued a New Covenant which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Savior, as High Priest, entered God’s heavenly sanctuary–not with the blood of animals–but offered His own divine blood at Calvary. He, who was without sin, paid the price in full for all sins (past, present, and future). Jesus’ atonement on the cross restored our standing before God and afforded us the opportunity of redemption through faith.  Yes, there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…it is Jesus!