White As Snow
I love snow. I may seem weird to you, but I always say if it’s going to be cold, it should at least snow! Snow makes the cold more enjoyable. I love the thought of God reaching into his bag of powdery white snow and sprinkling it onto the world, decorating the trees and the rooftops of houses, and dusting the ground.
Sometimes God tosses snow onto the world, and sometimes he dumps the whole bag. When this happens, everything becomes white, covering any other color.
Isaiah 1:18 says: “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 as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
I attended a webinar last Thursday where the speaker talked about the significance of colors in writing. Scarlet and crimson, variations of red, symbolize anger, pain, and danger. Our sins are evil. Yet somehow I seem to think my sins are not as “red” as those people around me.
“Mine are more…pink. Or puce.” I might find myself saying. “Definitely not as red as him and her. So I must be okay.”
But Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” This means in God’s eyes, every sin is the same. It all ends with the same punishment. Eternal death. It’s such a strange concept to wrap our heads around. In our world, you get more time in jail for murder or kidnapping than you do for stealing from a department store. Or as a child, you’d be likely to get more punishment for hitting your younger sibling than you would for disobeying your parents by not finishing a chore. To us, all sins are not the same. But to God, they are.
When we do something we know is wrong, but the world tells us it’s not that bad, God tells us that “little white lie” we told the other day is equal with the sins of every other sinner. We’re equal with the murderer. We are equal with the kidnapper. We are equal with the rapist or prostitute. We’re equal with the shoplifter. Even if we don’t think it’s that bad. I don’t know about you, but that really makes me think twice about feeling more righteous than those “bad people”. Because how God sees it, all sins are equal, and all sins He will equally forgive. The rest of Romans 6:23 continues, “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Not matter how bad you mess up, God is waiting there to bring you back with open arms, and make your crimson sins white as snow.
Sometimes God tosses snow onto the world, and sometimes he dumps the whole bag. When this happens, everything becomes white, covering any other color.
Isaiah 1:18 says: “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 as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
I attended a webinar last Thursday where the speaker talked about the significance of colors in writing. Scarlet and crimson, variations of red, symbolize anger, pain, and danger. Our sins are evil. Yet somehow I seem to think my sins are not as “red” as those people around me.
“Mine are more…pink. Or puce.” I might find myself saying. “Definitely not as red as him and her. So I must be okay.”
But Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” This means in God’s eyes, every sin is the same. It all ends with the same punishment. Eternal death. It’s such a strange concept to wrap our heads around. In our world, you get more time in jail for murder or kidnapping than you do for stealing from a department store. Or as a child, you’d be likely to get more punishment for hitting your younger sibling than you would for disobeying your parents by not finishing a chore. To us, all sins are not the same. But to God, they are.
When we do something we know is wrong, but the world tells us it’s not that bad, God tells us that “little white lie” we told the other day is equal with the sins of every other sinner. We’re equal with the murderer. We are equal with the kidnapper. We are equal with the rapist or prostitute. We’re equal with the shoplifter. Even if we don’t think it’s that bad. I don’t know about you, but that really makes me think twice about feeling more righteous than those “bad people”. Because how God sees it, all sins are equal, and all sins He will equally forgive. The rest of Romans 6:23 continues, “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Not matter how bad you mess up, God is waiting there to bring you back with open arms, and make your crimson sins white as snow.
I'm not a fan of winter, but I agree that if it's cold I'd like some snow. I love to watch it fall. It's so quiet and peaceful. It reminds me of the peace that returns to us when we've sinned and repented. It doesn't always come all at once, but little by little we feel better, knowing we are forgiven.
ReplyDeleteLove the analogy you made. I picture the snow completely covering the ground so all you see is white, not red, not green, not sin.
By the way, I'd love to know more about the lessons you learned about color in writing. It sounds really cool!
Convicting post, Sarah. Thanks for writing it :) And I agree with Bonita; I loved the analogy!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Sarah. Thanks! :) Love what Bonita said too.
ReplyDelete