Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool Isaiah 1:18
As a child and into early adulthood I loved winter. I loved playing ice hockey on the frozen ponds and creeks growing up in the suburbs of Chicago. I loved to shovel the driveway at the house where I grew up, and the colder the better. The snow was so light and easy to shovel and the air so crisp, clean and cold. A recent guided tour of a snow fort, built by my 11 year old granddaughter Ella and her dad, brought back a lot of these memories. Her contagious enthusiasm was a pure delight to behold.
As I’ve grown older, ice hockey has moved indoors and the only snow I desire to see is up on Bogus Basin ski resort. While I once thought of snowbirds as foolish, they now seem like geniuses.
Although this past Christmas wasn’t white, we made up for it in early January. Carol and my two grandsons Zach and Tyler did a great job keeping the driveway shoveled while I sat frustrated, nursing a freshly-minted right total hip replacement.
The Lord asked Job if he had entered into the treasures of the snow (Job 38:22). How stunning the pure white covering over all the earth’s imperfections, and especially the majestic mountains.
Meteorologists tell us that no two snowflakes are alike. Consider all the recent snowpack and how it provides much needed irrigation water in the spring and dry summer here in the high desert of the Northwest Rocky mountains!
But, Isaiah 1:18 speaks of a far greater need that God provides for the souls of all mankind as illustrated by the analogy of snow covering as it pertains to our sins. Just as a fresh blanket of snow covers many imperfections on the earthly landscape, the blood of Jesus Christ covers a multitude of terrible sins on the soul of the lost sinner when he turns in repentance to Christ as his Savior.
So, as we navigate through the rest of this winter having to shovel, drive, and sometimes getting to enjoy recreation in the snow, let’s remember to tell others of the saving grace of God through the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection for the cleansing of our sins.
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
James 5:20
Your Pastor and Friend,
