Pure Untrodden White Snow
I live in Pennsylvania, in what is commonly called Amish Country. While there is much to love about this part of the country, I am not a big fan of cold winters. And snow, maybe on Christmas Eve and an occasional weekend (when I do not need to drive in it), but other than that, stay away.
Instead, I prefer the mild winters of eastern North Carolina, allowing for barefoot walks on deserted beaches, the sand between my toes.
I did just get some hopeful news regarding the remainder of this winter season. A few days ago, our local university’s weather center predicted a record-setting lack of snow.
And even though I prefer sandy beaches over cold and snow, I must admit that there is tremendous beauty in a snowfall. The untouched snow on tree branches. The untrodden snow-covered ground. Both are serene and pristine, offering a sense of calm and peacefulness. But it doesn’t take too long for that beautiful white snow to turn dirty and ugly.
You have likely heard the phrase “white as snow.” This conjures up an image of pure white. What better describes whiteness than snow? Not only the intensity of the snow’s color on a winter’s day, but also the purity of untrodden snow. In Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” Autolycus sings “lawn as white as driven snow.”
Scripture tells us that every man, woman, and child is a sinner, falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We also know from Scripture that it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from our sin (1 John 1:7). In the Old Testament blood symbolizes the atonement of sin, the sacrificial cleansing that comes from the shedding of blood. And it is the blood of Jesus on the cross that cleanses us when we repent and turn from our sin.
Our lives are like that pure white snow; when we sin, that pure white turns dirty and ugly. However, because of God’s great love and mercy, by sacrificing His son Jesus Christ on the Cross to bear the penalty of our sins, when we turn from those sins (repent) we are made white as snow. Here is what we read in Isaiah 1:8 – “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
King David spied on Bathsheba, the wife of one of his senior advisors, as she bathed on her rooftop. He had an adulteress affair with her, got her pregnant, and then had her husband Uriah killed as part of the cover up plot. The prophet Nathan confronted David about this series of sins. Psalm 51 is a beautiful psalm written by David after that confrontation. I encourage you to read this psalm in its entirety. It begins with these words – “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” In v.7 we read, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
And in v.10 we find a plea that I include as part of my morning prayer – “Create in me a clean heart (a pure heart), O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” David goes on to ask that he not be cast out of God’s presence (v.11), that he be restored (v.12), and to be delivered from his guilt (v.14).
So today, will you humble yourself and ask God to forgive you of your sins? When you do, you become in His eyes whiter than snow; like pure white untrodden snow, beautiful beyond all
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