Snow
The snow is coming down. It's kind of pretty, as long as I'm sitting inside and watching it. I've seen all the posts this morning on Facebook of people who are upset that the winter storm promised yesterday didn't materialize in our area. I have many Facebook friends who oddly love snow (you know who you are!). I'm not among them. I'm completely happy with the level of snow we currently have. I like not having to clear off my driveway in the morning.
Snow does, however, remind me of God's great forgiveness. When I wake up and see a fresh coating of snow on the earth, I think of the words David once sang so long ago: "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). That psalm was written in the aftermath of David's affair with Bathsheba, but more than that it was written after Nathan the prophet confronted him with his sin. When it became obvious to him that he was God's king and therefore simply couldn't do things that other kings did (like take whatever woman he wanted and kill her husband), David fell on his face. Immediately remorseful and more: he begged God for forgiveness. More than having the privilege of being king, he wanted to be in right relationship with God, his creator.
And he didn't just want to give lip service to his repentance. He wanted to be "whiter than snow," clean, new, unspoiled. He wanted a new start, a fresh beginning with his God. The snow reminds me of my constant need, each morning, to come before God and ask for a new start, a fresh beginning. David's psalm calls us to be aware of the ways we have broken our relationship with God and others, and to bring that all to God. "Against you, you only, have I sinned," David sings, "and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalm 51:4).
When you read the rest of the psalm, you sense that David found the forgiveness he was looking for. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart. He went on to mess up again, but he still loved God and wanted to do what God wanted him to. David is a model for all of us who want to know God and want to pursue him with passion, because he shows us that even when we don't get it perfect, even when we miss the mark, we have a God who is still willing and able to wash us whiter than snow.
Snow does, however, remind me of God's great forgiveness. When I wake up and see a fresh coating of snow on the earth, I think of the words David once sang so long ago: "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). That psalm was written in the aftermath of David's affair with Bathsheba, but more than that it was written after Nathan the prophet confronted him with his sin. When it became obvious to him that he was God's king and therefore simply couldn't do things that other kings did (like take whatever woman he wanted and kill her husband), David fell on his face. Immediately remorseful and more: he begged God for forgiveness. More than having the privilege of being king, he wanted to be in right relationship with God, his creator.
And he didn't just want to give lip service to his repentance. He wanted to be "whiter than snow," clean, new, unspoiled. He wanted a new start, a fresh beginning with his God. The snow reminds me of my constant need, each morning, to come before God and ask for a new start, a fresh beginning. David's psalm calls us to be aware of the ways we have broken our relationship with God and others, and to bring that all to God. "Against you, you only, have I sinned," David sings, "and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalm 51:4).
When you read the rest of the psalm, you sense that David found the forgiveness he was looking for. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart. He went on to mess up again, but he still loved God and wanted to do what God wanted him to. David is a model for all of us who want to know God and want to pursue him with passion, because he shows us that even when we don't get it perfect, even when we miss the mark, we have a God who is still willing and able to wash us whiter than snow.
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