As I sat reading my Bible this morning I was suddenly aware of some falling snow flakes! Now, I've seen plenty of snow flakes in my time being raised in the upper Midwest. I was struck with the appearance of the landscape changing right before my eyes. For beginners, the change was in two dimensions. First, the snow was silent. No wind meant that the flakes, though small, were falling silently. No noise. The second was that just moments earlier the winter world without snow carried it's beauty and barrenness. That now is where the transformation first started taking place. The snow falling on the surroundings began sticking on the tops of my orchard branches and then the tops of other objects and buildings. Then the ground began being covered slowly at first and then quickly when the snow began accumulating. As the snow continued to fall the flakes became bigger and bigger. Masses of snow flakes clustered together for the journey from the heavens to the earth. It's glorious!
There are three types of people when it comes to snow. First are those who love it. Second are those who hate it. Third are those who are aware of the snow and don't really care much about it. The same is true about Christians. There are those who love Christians, those who hate Christians and those who are ambivalent about Christians. What matters isn't what people think about Christians but rather what they think about Christ. My first paragraph shared my thoughts and feelings about snow. I've been in both of the other positions as well. The beauty of the snow costs people. For instance, hauling out the feed to the cattle, clearing the road, and other jobs of the farm don't encourage anyone to like snow. Living with Christians can be seen in the same light. There are those Christians that I would rather cross the street to avoid than to encounter. Same with snow. There are those Christians that I would go to great lengths to sit down and worship Jesus with. Then there are those Christians who are not seen as Christian at all as their lives show anything but the faith they claim.
The whiteness of the snow is a means for me to remember that it was Christ's red blood that caused me to be white as snow. Not the dirty snow you find on the side of the road. But more like the fresh falling snow and the newness of that whiteness all through your and my world. Whether we like it or not the world sees Christians as either fresh white snow or gray and dirty snow. Which are you? Even a little dirt means you and I are tainted. What do we do to show the whiteness of Christ's work to the world around us? Do we live like we are cleansed every day new and bright? I'd like each of us to be the whiteness the world needs every moment of every day of our lives. In order for that to happen we need to live like cleansed people. We need to believe and live the freedom from sin that Christ has offered in grace to you and I as well as others.
The snow is still falling only heavier. I love it! The ground is turning white obliterating the colors of the world. What are you doing to show your world that you are white as snow? It's always your choice.
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