Mon., Feb. 12, 2018

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  

For the last week, our Wisconsin neighborhood has had a pristine, beautiful new blanket of snow. When the sun is sparkling on the snow, it is simply breath-taking.

Our neighbors, the Hahn’s, are gone for several weeks this winter. They smartly head south and spend time in a warmer climate, avoiding the snow, wind and cold of a normal Wisconsin winter. A couple days ago, I looked out my kitchen window towards the Hahn’s. What I saw was magnifico: an untouched sheet of beautiful winter white snow in the lawn between our houses. Their driveway was completely untouched. There is no need for the snow to be moved while they are absent from the neighborhood. It was late afternoon. The angle of the low sun heightened the gorgeous twinkling of the miniture ice crystals. Literally, my expression was caught in my throat, overwhelmed with the raw beauty.

When I looked down the side of the house, I noticed some filled-in tracks close to the house. I’m not exactly sure what created these small divets in the snow. I didn’t want to disturb this beautiful sight by tromping through the snow to see if I could determine who made the tracks. The pictures I took completely do not serve the sight justice. Yet, I simply did not want to ruin this lovely scene in our yard.

One of my first thoughts after observing this unique scene in our yard: how the snow can be a metaphor for God’s desire to remove sin and shortcoming from our life. One of the mysteries of God is God’s decision to remove sins from our lives simply for the asking. Yes, the sins are bought with a cost: the life of Jesus. Yet, God willingly does this simply for our benefit. No questions asked. The sin is simply gone.

It’s hard to justify walking through the snow and disturbing the lovely scene currently there. It maybe hard for us to envision God giving up his only biological son’s life for our benefit. But God did. My sin life is far less pristine than the narrow strip of land between our and the Hahn’s house. In all of God’s glory, God overlooks all of my shortcomings and loves me anyone. God does the same for you. Thanks be to God.

Almighty God – how you can simply overlook our sin and forgive it is beyond me. But thank you for doing this … purely for my benefit. May I see your desire to wipe my slate clear as something deeply meaningful for me.  Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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