Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
Psalm 51:7
God has given us an atypical winter this year. The kids have already had nine snow days which has not happened in a while here. We have had snow and ice and sleet separately and all together. I have truly learned what it means to be a northerner in the snow and I am very ready to buy a snowblower even for our very small driveway.
However, I was challenged by the sermon Sunday to recognize that God sent the snow for His glory and we need to accept that instead of complain about it. All week long, even as more snow fell, I have been looking at the snow on the ground and seeing God in it. I have truly enjoyed the beauty of the farms and fields that are free of tracks and footprints and are pure white. I have marveled at the vast amounts of snow but the way that neighbors have helped each other to clear it. I have listened as people have feared the warm up late in the week because they don't want the snow to melt too fast and cause flooding.
This morning while driving, I noticed something else. As we have had a few days of melting, the dirt and grime in the snow is starting to distract from the whiteness. It is starting to look gray and dirty and is no longer smooth.
The Bible tells us that when our sins are washed away we will be whiter than snow. Fresh snow is white, but as time goes by we continue to sin. We are no longer pure and clean and white, but we become dirty and grimy and something that even God doesn't want to see.
When you become a Christian your sins are forgiven. We are washed clean, but you don't stop sinning. We all sin every day, more often than we probably even realize. We become like that dirty snow, in need of renewal and refreshing.
God sent a lot of separate snow storms this winter. Each time an old layer of snow was covered with a new coat of white was a reminder of our continual need for forgiveness. A need to be returned to the whiter than snow condition of cleanness and purity.
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