22 Feb 06 114061969037000431

Yesterday the sun was shining and we reached a high of around 50 degrees. If this were Florida there would have been hundreds of cases of hypothermia. I was looking forward to a warming trend but it seems I will have to continue looking forward.

We were just getting ready to walk out the door when Reese said “Hey dad check it out, it’s snowing.” The lesson here?

To think positively about our fresh coat of winter goodness, here are some thoughts from scripture on snow.

The Psalmist viewed God as the ultimate meteorologist, the author and perfected of weather.

The LORD is pleased with those who respect him, with those who trust his love. Jerusalem, praise the LORD; Jerusalem, praise your God. He makes your city gates strong and blesses your children inside. He brings peace to your country and fills you with the finest grain. He gives a command to the earth, and it quickly obeys him. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He throws down hail like rocks. No one can stand the cold he sends. Then he gives a command, and it melts. He sends the breezes, and the waters flow. (Psalm 147:11-18 NCV)

The prophets viewed snow and rain through the lens of their intended purpose.

The LORD says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Rain and snow fall from the sky and don’t return without watering the ground. They cause the plants to sprout and grow, making seeds for the farmer and bread for the people. (Isaiah 55:8-10 NCV)

This, of course, was until the village children started throwing snowballs at the prophets!

The angel who came to sit on the stone that was rolled away was described in terms of brilliance, lightning and clothes as white as snow.

At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. He was shining as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they became like dead men. (Matthew 28:2-4 NCV)

The hair of what looked like the Son of Man in Revelation was also “white as snow,” (Revelation 1:13-14).

And while there are many other references to snow in the Bible, the classic imagery relates to the cleansing of sin.

The LORD says, “Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be as white as snow. Though your sins are deep red, they can be white like wool. (Isaiah 1:18 NCV)

Snow isn’t so bad, until you have to shovel it of course. The first falling flakes, the accumulating blanket, fitting reminders of the deep red blood of the Savior which was shed to cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.

But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and we do not accept God’s teaching. (1 John 1:7-10).