Snow

She can't get enough of the snow...

It's winter here in Russia. Snow is everywhere.

The family was out up in the mountains with friends for some barbecue in the snow. We dressed up pretty warmly to avoid the cold and to really enjoy the moment. We are appreciative of the scene outside. It looked pure, undefiled, soft and WHITE.

Very white. I wondered then how snow happens to get so white.
After all, it is dirty liquid that we have here in our planet that evaporated in the atmosphere and have frozen off on the way down here. From the pollution problems we have, it is quite amazing how, when it comes down to us, it is pure white!

Its whiteness brings to mind God's promise: "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow." Isaiah 1:18.

I need that. Being a dysfunctional person with patterns of thinking and behaving that produces dysfunctional relationships, I shudder to think that I am like a dynamite destroying the ones I love. Past mistakes often rear their heads accusing me of my unfitness of God's kingdom. How, when I know what is right, do I do wrong? How, when I love Jesus, do I hurt Him again and again?

In one of the most beautiful books, Steps to Christ, the author wrote: "Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but… they are POWERLESS. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life" (SC, 15).

O, for a heart touched by Heaven. White, even "whiter than snow"! Pure. Undefiled. Soft. A heart "restored to communion with Heaven" ( SC, 23).

Only Christ who "draws men unto" Him gives this longing in our hearts as we gaze at His goodness and recognize our uncleanness. And when we come before Him, asking him to give us repentance, He will never turn us away. "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

As snow continues to fall this season, let us be reminded of our heart's need of Heaven's touch. And from my heart to yours: Enjoy the season!