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One of the first board books I read to John, our first child, was God Made All the Colours. I’m thankful that I can see colors. I spent several sad hours when Ray and I were first getting to know each other. One day he told me that he was color blind. I just couldn’t believe it–no color? When I went back to my apartment, my twenty-year-old heart was so upset. In that day before cell phones (and in that day when it wasn’t proper for a girl to call a guy), I couldn’t call or text or email him. The next time I saw him we talked about it again, and I learned that Ray did not see the world in black and white. He just has trouble distinguishing some colors. I was so relieved.

Even people who aren’t color blind have trouble communicating about colors sometimes. There is a great scene in an old movie when a woman tells a painter what colors she wants in her new house. She goes into great detail about the exact shades of yellow and blue that she wants. When she is gone, the painter tells his assistant to write down yellow and blue. All her precision was for naught. When I was communicating with the printer about what color bookmark I wanted in Daily Encouragement for Homeschooling Mothers (the book), we had a fun exchange while she tried to find out whether I wanted lavender or Barney purple. I know this is stereotypical, but maybe that’s because I was talking to a woman and the lady in the movie was talking to a man. As a general rule, I think maybe it means a bit more to us girls.

God not only made all the colors; He talks about them a great deal in the Bible. I like to explore what the Bible says about just one thing. Take purple, for example. Purple fabric was highly valued in the Old Testament. When God told Moses how He wanted the tabernacle to be built, He talked to him again and again about purple (Exodus 25-28). Israelite men who owned purple material gave it to the skilled craftsmen to use when they built the tabernacle, while women who were were skilled in spinning brought the craftsmen the purple they had spun (Exodus 35). The Bible mentions purple in these passages, too.

  • During the time of Israel’s judges, some kings wore purple robes (Judges 8:26).
  • When the Jew Daniel became a ruler under Belshazzar in Babylon, he was clothed in purple (Daniel 5:7).
  • The worthy woman who is praised in Proverbs 31 wore purple clothing.
  • The color violet is mentioned five times in the Old Testament, including in Esther 1 where we learn that the court of King Ahasuerus, who reigned from India to Ethiopia, was decorated with violet and purple.

Purple was valued in the New Testament, too. When Jesus told a parable about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus, He said that the rich man habitually dressed in purple (Luke 16:19-31). One of the ways the Roman soldiers mocked our Lord Jesus was by dressing Him in a purple robe (John 19:5). The first European to come to Jesus was Lydia whose occupation was selling purple fabrics (Luke 16:14).

Today might be a good day for your children to go on a purple field trip. Share a Bible verse or two about purple. Thank God that your eyes can see it. Then, with camera or paper and pencil in hand, see how many inside and outside things you can find that are purple.

I’m thankful I could see these asters blooming by our house back in September. I remember the day over ten years ago when my friend Terry, her mother Miss Delia, and I dug them up in a field by Miss Delia’s home. When we moved to our current home, I dug them up again and brought them here. Each fall we cut them back, and each spring God makes them grow tall again. This year the tallest stalk was well over six feet tall. Perhaps you also have a purple (or lavender to be precise) memory to share with your children.

God Made All the Colors 048
Miss Delia’s Asters

A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira,
a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God,
was listening; and the Lord opened her heart
to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
Acts 16:14

 

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