snow thoughts

For those of you who read this blog from outside of the Greenville area, we got some snow today. Now, in typical Greenville fashion, it came early in the morning and turned into slush by 10am. But for a few fleeting moments we had some pretty white stuff on the ground. I did managed to get a couple of decent pictures of our church before it all turned to slush.

As I was walking around my cul-de-sac this morning, my mind was drawn to certain passages of Scripture that use a snow imagery to convey God's truth. Here are a couple of things to consider as you are thawing out after one-too-many snow angels.

• Psalm 51:7 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
  This is part of David's prayer to God after being completely told by the prophet Nathan. He comes to God in repentance and asks for cleansing from his sin. He knows that through His wonderful grace God can purge him to be cleaner than the purest snow (see also: Isaiah 1:18)
  
• Job 38:22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail..." This is perhaps one of the lesser known references to snow in the Scriptures. This makes up part of God's response to Job's inquiries. He asks Job if he has ever visited the heavenly storehouses which hold the snow that God sends on the earth. What a neat picture of God's provision for us and a great place to build a snowman!
• Isaiah 55:10-11 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah uses the imagery of snow to portray the extent to which God's Word will impact its hearers. When you look outside in the early morning after a good snow, you see every surface covered in a blanket of white. In the same way, God's Word is pervasive in the extent to which it covers. Not only does it cover but it also is promised to accomplish the purposes for which it was sent.
• Revelation 1:14 "The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire..." This may be the coolest reference to snow in Scripture. Imagine the awesome brilliance that Christ will exude as He sits on His throne. It is no wonder that we will fall in worship with all creation. I can't wait to be there!

There is much more that could be said, but that is all the time I have for now. My wife and I are going to go home after lunch because the weather is supposed to get nastier this afternoon (sleet, hail, ice...general yuck). I hope all of you stay safe and warm.

Grace and Peace,
CMW