Whiter Than Snow

This is a picture I took today, looking out the window from my new study. We are rearranging some things in our house and one of those changes was that I moved my study out of one room and into another. In a sense it is the same view, as it is only about 10 feet away from where I used to be and on the same side of the house. But in a sense it is a different view, because before I had my back to the window and now it is just a few feet away on my right side. Turn my head to the right, and this is what I see.

I should have taken this picture early yesterday, as we had new snow overnight which was clinging to the branches when I woke up. As the day progressed we had several rounds of light snow, sunshine and brisk winds. At the end of the day things look pretty much like they do right now. A layer of snow covering the ground, virtually untouched by animals or children.

One of the songs I've been listening to a lot this week is Jesus Paid It All. The chorus goes like this:

"Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow"

Without researching the writing of the song, I believe the words in the Bible that underlie the image the chorus brings to mind are from Psalm 51, which says this in verse 7:

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

The psalm is David's confession, after being confronted over his sin with Bathsheba. David confesses to the Lord and seeks forgiveness of his sin, knowing that the cleansing the Lord will provide will be complete. Every speck of his sin will be dealt with.

This is the same kind of forgiveness that we may still seek, as we repent of our sin and turn to the Lord. The "advantage" we have over David is in that we can clearly see in the New Testament how our forgiveness is achieved through the death-and-resurrection of Jesus. When we believe in him as our Savior and Lord, then the forgiveness of our sin is assured. Washed away, leaving us whiter than snow.

We continue to live in a fallen world. We continue to struggle with sin. We continue to repent. Here in this world, looking to the Lord, we see all kinds of things in our lives that just aren’t right. But by faith in Jesus we can be assured that as the Lord looks to us the stain of our sin is washed away, leaving us as white as snow. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.