SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 1: 18, (ESV)
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
DEVOTIONAL:
Snow is one of the greatest things, if you're a kid; or a skier. Snow can be a burden, or a source of frustration for an adult who has to shovel it, or drive through it on a long commute to work. Nonetheless, there are few things in all of God's creation which are as beautiful as freshly fallen snow.
I suppose it's appropriate, as services are canceled today because of snow, to think of snow. I remember, when I was much younger, us kids would often go to Willowbrook Mall with Dad to shop for Mom's Christmas gifts, and I remember more than once seeing the mountains of snow that had been plowed into the corners of the parking lot as we entered the mall, and I remember just how dirty they were, and yet, if the snow were to fall freshly upon those mountains, you would never know how dirty it had looked before.
Snow is one of the greatest things, but perhaps more because God uses it for His people as an illustration of forgiveness of sins. In the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 1, God's people have a problem: sin. Sin has caught up with them, they are caught red-handed. In fact, God says their sin is as scarlet; crimson. And yet, God promises forgiveness, that though His people's sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. And we might wonder, “how?”, and that's a good question. One thing to know about the Book of Isaiah is that it is considered by many to be the “Gospel” of the Old Testament. Though it was written in a time and place, it is filled with prophecies about the future, specifically about someone: the Messiah. And that God's Messiah would bring about a New Covenant with forgiveness of sins and a suffering servant who would be “pierced for our transgressions”. Jesus is the Messiah who would pay it all to forgive the sins of His people.
Then, as you step out this morning, and see the snow freshly fallen on the ground, covering the dirt and grime that was once there, remember that God in Christ calls you forgiven, and though your sins are like scarlet, in Christ they are as white as snow.
PRAYER:
Dear God, we pray you would forgive us for all our sins, of which there are many. We thank you for the promises you have given to us in your Word, that though are sins are like scarlet, they would be white as snow. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.
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