White As Snow

We had snow this past weekend.
Plans were cancelled.
Church services were cancelled.
The man who plows our driveway came after the snow stopped falling.

Earlier that morning, two of my granddaughters Face Timed me.
They live about two hours away in a state south of us.
They were so happy that it was snowing at Grandma’s house.
They were sad that it was not snowing at their house.

Soon, I told them.
Pop Pop checked the weather and the snow should start around 11:00 at your house.
Squeals of delight were heard.
They talked of all the things they would be doing when it snowed.

We got four inches of snow; three one day and another inch the following day.
It is so beautiful.
Tree branches are covered, making me wish that I could paint the beauty I see.
My husband shoveled the walkways, so each of our doors had a clear access.

My six-year-old granddaughter told me something to which I could totally relate.
I love to be the first one to sled down the hill, Grandma.
I love to be the one who makes the first pass.
I smiled, knowingly.

I was the same way as a little girl.
I loved to be the first one to leave a boot print in the snow.
I loved to be the first one sledding down a hill, with no marks on it, yet.
I understand my granddaughter; we are kindred spirits.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
(Psalm 51:7)

There is something so clean about new fallen snow.
No footprints. No tire treads. No sled marks.
Just pure, white, pristine snow.
No marks at all, until someone steps, or sleds, or drives.

God created everything from nothing.
When He created it, He declared everything, good.
When He created man and woman in His image, He declared them, very good.
But sin entered the world and marred that beauty, that goodness.

I think of a new fallen snow as the way God intended everything to be.
We all know what snow looks like after a while, particularly on the roads.
It is dirty with the salt that is put down to inhibit skidding.
It gets dirty and slushy as it melts.

We long for the cleanness of snow without any marks at all.
We long to be the one who makes the first pass.
However, when we enter the clean snow, we make it dirty.
Unless we float above the ground, and never touch it, we will leave our mark.

God provided a way.
We can be washed with the water of His Word.
We can be made clean by confessing our sins and receiving His forgiveness.
All of our marks are as if they never happened when we come to Jesus in faith.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

All the slush, all the footprints, all the tire tread marks of our lives are made clean.
We confess our sins.
He is faithful to forgive us our sins.
We are justified: just as if we never sinned.

Our sins are as far as the east is from the west.
They are forgotten.
It’s as if we look out on the landscape and see clean snow with no marks.
It is not a matter of yet, it is a matter of never, after we are forgiven.

I love to be the first one to sled down the hill, Grandma.
I love to be the one who makes the first pass.
I know, dear one, I know.
In Jesus, that longing is reality.

Washed clean.
Whiter than snow.
No marks.
Forgiven.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.