Whiter Than Snow

For several weeks now there has been a buzz everywhere you go about the incoming snow. At the time of writing this article the skies are clear blue and the air is cold, but the “winter storm” is on its way. My kids (and their parents) are pretty excited about the possibility of having some fun in a winter wonderland if it happens as they predict. But that is the thing, we never know if it will really happen as predicted. There is a chance...and maybe a really good chance...but no guarantee. And so we wait with hopeful anticipation for a fresh coat of snow to give the appearance of a clean yard and peaceful times. 

This week is a good reminder of two things. The first is that there are things of which we can absolutely be certain as believers of God’s word. We can know that one day we will meet the Lord. It might be due to the passing from this life through death (Hebrews 9:27). Generally we think of that being when we are old, but it is certainly not limited to those of old age. Of course we also wait in eager anticipation for the return of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). And, as a side note: some passages that describe the risen Jesus describe his appearance “like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” He is pure and holy.

So the second reminder is this: There is purity found in Jesus. If you need a fresh start there is no greater place to go for that than Jesus. Even in the Old Testament God had the capability of cleansing those who came to Him. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.” To take something drenched in red and make it white is a power that even the most powerful stain removers struggle to achieve. So in Bible times that seems to have been a very bold statement. Yet, that is the power that God has. When David had sinned with Bathsheba and was called out by Nathan the prophet, he lamented in Psalm 51:7 and asked God to cleanse him so he would be “whiter than snow.” 

If David and the people in Isaiah’s day could experience that kind of cleansing-- imagine how much greater cleansing you and I receive when we come to Jesus with our sins. The Hebrew writer said it this way: “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defied sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13-14)?

So if you read this before, during, or after the snow fall let it remind you that one day we will meet a pure and holy Savior who gave his life for our sins. As we longingly anticipate His return may we give our lives to Him and allow Him to make us pure as He is pure (1 Peter 1:13-16). May we be washed in His blood to be whiter than snow. 

Ben