What the Return of Reading Rainbow Means for a New Generation

Guest Commentary

Audio By Carbonatix

By Milton Quintanilla, Crosswalk.com

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The hit children’s television series “Reading Rainbow” is back with a new host, former librarian Mychal Threets, as he carries on the legacy of original host Levar Burton by helping children learn to read books.

“I was raised on Reading Rainbow,” Threets wrote in a post on Threads, “LeVar Burton is my hero. I am a reader, I am a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow so powerfully made us believe we belong in books, we belong everywhere.”

Threets makes it clear that the original show raised him and that Burton is his hero, so much so that he became a librarian. We understand how one person can be an inspiration for others to follow. Christians know this very well as we see how God has used weak and imperfect people for HIs glory. We also read about our hero, our greatest example, the Lord Jesus Christ, and what He did for us through Calvary. Not only is He our inspiration to follow, but we are to encourage others to follow Him, as all in desiring to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). As Christians, we need to ask the following question:

ASK: How does culturally relevant media give Christians the opportunity to meet people where they are to build authentic, important relationships?

Accessibility and Reach of the Media

To question this question, I would start by discussing the accessibility and reach of media in our lives today. Media comes to us through various means, such as the internet, television, radio, and so forth. With those same means, the media can reach a worldwide audience in a way that was not known to previous generations. This provides a perfect opportunity for Christians to spread the Gospel to those who don’t know Christ. In the age that we’re living in, we have an opportunity to spread the Good News in a way that the church fathers did not because of the advances in technology. Sadly, however, we have also been lazy, complacent, and not driven like our spiritual ancestors. Many times, we used to be entertained, then disciplined and sent out. Although every Christian does not have the calling of the evangelist, they are called to evangelize to the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

How Sharing Our Story Reflects God’s Mercy

Sharing one’s testimony is also a great way to build relationships with people because they get to hear what you have gone through. Providing a sense of transparency cultivates relatability because they get to see that someone else has been through their struggle instead of feeling that it’s only been them. Moreover, believers get to show the love of God to those who perhaps feel like they are unlovable or worthless. But as the Scriptures tell us:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3–7 ESV).

In this world, we face many afflictions, yet God comforts us through it all. God gives comfort because He comforts Himself, and He provides the necessary comfort in the middle of affliction. Sharing one’s testimony provides that type of comfort because we can see how God has comforted us already, which in turn makes us relatable to others. This also provides listeners a sense of comfort, realizing we are walking alongside without having to feel any sense of shame or guilt.

Empathy, Evangelism, and the Tools God Has Given Us

Displaying empathy is also crucial as it places a person in another person’s shoes in order to understand what they’re going through. Rather than talking at them, we listen to them and then display the same compassion Christ does to others. In his previous letter to Corinth, the apostle Paul writes, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). The apostle went the distance in order to reach others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ without compromise. The impact he had in his lifetime is something that resonates with believers today, given how the Lord used Him.

Although we cannot replicate what the apostle Paul or any of the apostles did, we have a greater reach than they did, as they did not have media at that time. If anything, we have no excuse not to evangelize because the Lord has given us the tools and the means to do so. Christians today have a tremendous opportunity to reach people across the world through media. I think of the words of Jesus when He told His disciples about doing greater works than He because He was going to God the Father (John 14:12). Christ was talking about the scope of the preaching of the Gospel that the disciples were commissioned to carry out following his ascension. We have an even greater scope because we have the technological means that they don’t have. At the same time, we cannot do so without the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel Hasn’t Changed and God Is Still at Work

Praise God for the means He has given us to reach others, no matter what age we are living in. He can use anyone regardless of their past or background. The Lord is working through it all because He is still in the saving business today. The Gospel is the same as it was 2,000 years ago, and it will continue to be the same Gospel forever. No need for revisions or edits. It is not obsolete.

He is the one who turns hearts into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) because there is nothing impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). Let us be thankful because we are not alone in witnessing to others. Jesus tells His disciples, “and I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Rest assured, He is working through it all because He is with us through it all. Jesus is the one who saved us, reconciled us to a Holy God, and defeated death. Despite the troubles we face, we can take heart because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Praise the Lord for His work, which never ends. Therefore, let us continue to labor in reaching those who do not know Christ. By using media to cultivate authentic relationships with others, we learn to use it productively rather than aimlessly. Additionally, we go in reflecting the light of Christ in their lives, for we are called to be salt & light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). Be encouraged because the Lord is at work in our labors in making Him known to this world.

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.