Snow

If you live in Michigan, there is one thing for certain about winter – snow.  Some years, the accumulation will be higher than other years, but it is a fact of life.  This is true not only in Michigan but other places as well – the falling of good, old snow.

There are times when we look out and see the snow covering the ground, a white blanket that looks clean as can be.  The sun gleaming off it at times a pretty sight to behold.

So, what does snow have to do with a blog article?  The Bible at times uses the word to describe certain things about our spiritual life.

For example, in Psalm 51:7 David writes, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”  This comes from one of David’s “confession” Psalms, written after being confronted over Nathan the prophet regarding sin in David’s life.

He asks God to wash him, to spiritually cleanse him, and in doing so, David will be whiter than snow.  It is a picture of dealing with sin in our lives.  As David pours out his heart to God, as he admits to the wrongs he has done, he also knows this – God hears and makes us spiritually whole and clean when we come before Him seeking His grace and mercy.

The pure picture of snow is seen in the forgiveness of sin that every one of us needs.  Sin stains our life, but when we deal with it, that stain is removed practically speaking, and we are clean before God.  What a great picture of what God does for us when we come before Him, open and seeking His help in our life.

In Daniel 7:9 we read of the “Ancient of Days”, of God Himself, Whose clothing, according to Daniel, was “white as snow.”  This is a picture of God’s holiness, of His sinlessness.  It is compared snow, white and unstained.  What a visual of God’s purity of character.  It is important to note this, that God is pure and desires that of His people, a holy life, one that is morally upright before Him (1 Peter 1:15-16).

There are a few other passages that speak of snow in a figurative sense.  One of the things I enjoy is seeing how the Bible will use something so visual, like snow, and bring home a spiritual truth.  Much like Jesus when He told stories, in which He used objects and things that the people would be familiar with and know about and then apply spiritual truths in His stories, we see that in other places of the Bible.

From a practical standpoint, Psalm 51 reminds me of the need to deal with sin in my life, to recognize the harm it causes spiritually, both to myself and to others, so that when I do confess it and repent of it, I will be “whiter than snow.”

Snow.  A reminder of God’s purity in His character and a picture of a heart right with God.