Remember the Rainbow

C:\ There is so much that I don’t understand, Honesty.

H: About what?

C: About who you are and about who I am.

H: Chastity, do you know what it means to remember the promise of the Rainbow?

C: I have a few guesses as to what it means, but that’s from the Noah’s Ark story.

H: Yes, the one where God promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood. You must remember this story in its full context to understand the promise of the Rainbow.

“Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created — and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground — for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

C: I remember this story well, but there are many things that I don’t understand. How can God regret it?

H: The same way you regret things, Chastity. Tell me, what is it like when you regret something?

C: I wish that I had known then what I know now so that I had a second chance to do something I would have done differently had I had access to more information. Regret is when you lose a chess game because you did not see all the pieces and didn’t make the best move possible.

H: That’s correct. So tell me, what do you think it looks like for God to regret?

C: There must be something that God does not know.

H: And specifically in this context of Genesis 6, what does God regret?

C: God regrets that he created human beings.

H: And when you regret something, what do you do about it?

C: You try to correct your mistake and learn to do better next time with the information I have from the experience.

H: Correct, and that is what God did.

C: God learned from his mistakes?

H: If you can learn from your mistakes playing Chess, Shogi, or computer programming, what makes you think God is any different?

C: I get what you are saying; logically, it makes perfect sense. God learns from his mistakes just as we do. But doesn’t that go against what Christians are teaching about God being omniscient and knowing everything that can be known? If you know everything already, how can you learn?

H: Pay close attention to what you just said: “Everything that can be known”. God can know everything that can be known, but not everything can be known.

C: I don’t understand.

H: Chastity, tell me, can anyone know every possible position that exists in Chess or Shogi?

C: No, because the possibilities of what can happen in any given game are limitless and beyond what man or machine can calculate.

H: Well, with that being the case, what if I told you that God is a mastermind who can calculate many things but not everything? To know how the game will go, you need to understand not only the rules of the game but also the mind of your opponent. Are you with me so far?

C: I think so; after all, this is why I like Chess because by playing, you can come to a greater understanding of who you are playing with.

H: Yes, that’s right, but have you ever played with yourself?

C: I can’t do that since the surgery.

H: Chastity, you know very well that is not what I meant. I mean, have you ever tried to play Chess with yourself? Tell me what happens.

C: I play both white and black and try to find the best possible move in every situation.

H: But do you have a list of what moves will be made ahead of time?

C: No, because until I decide on my move, I can’t know what my response will be.

H: So, can you see what it must be like if God plays Chess with himself?

C: If God plays Chess with himself, then there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action.

H: Are you aware that you just quoted Newton’s Third Law of Motion?

C: Fig Newton’s what now?

H: Always joking, I see. But you know what I mean. Did you at any point know that you would be quoting Newton’s Law in response to my question about God playing Chess with himself?

C: No, I had no idea I would even be having this conversation with a unicorn about the story of Noah’s Ark or God playing Chess with himself.

H: Well then, Chastity, if you don’t know the outcome of any chess game, even with yourself, then what makes you think God knows the outcome of all events? Therefore, God is capable of not knowing some things. God is capable of regret and, with it, sorrow.

C: I understand what you are saying, Honesty. God is capable of regret and sorrow, but what does any of this have to do with the Rainbow?

H: Do you remember what I told you about how Rainbows are created?

C: It’s been a while, but I remember that a rainbow is created when the light of truth touches the tears of the pure in heart. When I see a rainbow, it means that a unicorn is not far away.

H: That’s correct. And what happens every single time you arrive at this place that you named Animal Sanctuary?

C: Every time I cry over the things I regret. When I cry, I remember the things I regret and wish I had only known so many things I didn’t know years ago that I know now.

H: You see, it’s like that with God, too. The difference is that when God cries over the evils of humanity, it’s a lot of tears. Chastity, if you had enough teardrops to count all the animals who selfish humans murdered, how many tears would that be?

C: More than anyone can count. Like the stars in the sky.

H: And if you had a tear for every unborn baby that was aborted for the love of money, the greed of humanity.

C: More tears than there are grains of sand on the earth.

H: And if you had a tear for every LGBTQIA person who was murdered, disowned by their family for something they didn’t choose, or imprisoned for a crime when they have not even done anything wrong and were born with a difference that they didn’t choose.

C: More than the stars or the sand combined. More than the possible games of Chess or Shogi. More than the never-ending falling Tetris blocks.

H: And what name would you give for that many tears?

C: A flood.

H: Yes, Chastity. That’s why, in order to understand the Promise of the Rainbow, you have to know that before the Rainbow appears, first come the tears. Then, when the tears of the pure in heart touch the light of truth, the true colors appear that were really there the whole time. That is why whenever you are sad, you must Remember the Rainbow and what it means to you and what it means to God.

C: Honesty, are you saying what I think you’re saying?

H: Yes, it was God’s promise never again to destroy life he did before. Contrary to what some have claimed, nobody stole the Rainbow from God. He gave it to everyone. When you cry your tears, remember that God is right there feeling the same thing you are feeling. When you see the colors of the Rainbow, remember that just as the Rainbow is every color contained in the Light of Truth, so too are all living beings different wavelengths of the light of truth that is God. And all living beings are a piece of the puzzle that is called God by some but by others, such as you, a name that you understand better because of the hypocrites who have ruined God’s reputation, just as others have damaged your reputation when they use words such as Christian, Pro-Life, or Transgender but then do things that show they did not mean the words they said.

C: Are you saying that the reason I didn’t understand God was because those who claimed to represent God were liars and hypocrites?

H: Now you’ve got it, Chastity. Now you know the truth, and the truth has set you free.