As I write, I’m doing something I don’t do very often—I’m looking out my window watching snow come down. Here in Arkansas we only get a few good snows each year. I don’t mean to rub that in if you’re up north and had to dig yourself out this morning.
And I’m here thinking how the snow has turned my stereotypical neighborhood into a magical winter wonderland. Everything, I mean, everything seems to look better with snow on it. Even my neighbor’s trash can looks magical covered in snow. My yard looks perfect with the snow, you can’t see the mixture of grasses or the uneven spots. The rickety fence in the pasture in the distance looks picturesque not the typical eyesore. And the landscape of cow patties is an unending plain of white. Everything looks better, well almost everything. The exception being my wife’s white car.
The whole reason we have a white car is so we don’t have to wash it as regular, as say a, black vehicle. White is good about hiding dirt—as ironic as that sounds. But with the white snow layered across the car, our car looks tan. It filthy. The glistening purity of the snow collides with dirt on the car. It’s quite funny when you think about it—isn’t it? The snow makes what typically is dirty clean and what is typically clean dirty.
In this observation, I’m reminded of a message I preached a few years back. I preached how that snow compares to forgiveness. How scripture says God takes our sins which are as scarlet, but He makes them white as snow.
And God does this.
Chances are that you have received this ultimate forgiveness through Christ.
You know how God works.
But its not snow that covers our sins, it’s the righteousness of Jesus.
Righteousness that when it appeared to Isaiah he fell down and said, “Woe is me, I am ruined.”
Righteousness that when it appeared to Peter he fell down and said, “Get away from me I’m a sinner.”
Yeah, the more I think about it, Jesus works like this snow. He turns the dirty clean, and the self-proclaimed clean dirty. Remember when Jesus went to the house of Simon, and this Pharisee who claimed to be a man of the law and morality, did not even properly greet Jesus with respect, but a prostitute came in, poured out expensive perfume on his feet and cleaned them with her tears. That one scene is just a microcosm of Jesus’ entire ministry.
Jesus brought in the ones considered dirty by the world around them. He not only forgave them, but He brought them into the story.
But the religious leaders of that day, the seemingly clean, became the ones condemned.
Now I don’t mean to give reason for you to sin, but I want to remind you that our good is never good enough. After salvation and we begin to walk with the Lord, we have to keep checking ourselves. We are in danger of becoming Pharisees. We begin to trust in our on cleanliness, but we’re just white cars—we still need Jesus. We can’t forget. And if you are reading and you feel your life is dirty, remember just like the snow, God sends His forgiveness.
So, regardless what color “car” you are, do what I’m going to do in a few minutes—go play in the snow. Enjoy what God has provided. And celebrate HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Before you go play in the proverbial snow or the real snow please join the list to receive all the stuff Jake writes here.
[bctt tweet=”Snow Makes Everything Look Better Except White Cars & Pharisees” username=”soldoutjake”]
[bctt tweet=”snow makes what typically is dirty clean and what is typically clean dirty.” username=”soldoutjake”]
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