After two weeks of green grass and bare sidewalks, snow blew back into Barrie Thursday morning. My next-door neighbour shouted, “I hate this!” Despite all the grumbling and complaining from those who shovel it and drive through it, let me point out something good about snow.

Isaiah said to his fellow citizens, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow” (Is.1:18). Their nation was horribly corrupt and soon to be invaded and judged. But God would forgive them if they would only repent. Sin-stained hearts could be white as snow.

The colour of snow is certainly dazzling. When the sun shines on it we want to protect our eyes. Skiers wear sun block and heavily-tinted goggles. A dull world suddenly gleams. The browns and grays of late fall suddenly turn to bright white. Snow also has the ability to cover up the ugliest messes. The worst-looking yard in your neighbourhood suddenly looks fresh and clean after a decent snowfall. All that junk seems to disappear.

God knew what He was doing when he used the imagery of snow to describe His ability to forgive a sinful life and create something brand new all over again. All the decaying rot of a sin-infested life can be forgotten, as if buried under bright snow. Everything is transformed. God does that for us through Jesus Christ.

The next time you have to deal with great drifts of snow, remember that it’s a picture of what God has done for you. “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.”

– Tim Johnson