Winter Snow

The valley received another fresh blanket of snow this last weekend. The snow really revitalizes the drab colors of winter and adds a sparkle to the landscape. Snow is a celebration of winter. Snow can also represent freshness and purity. Who hasn’t heard the saying pure as the new driven snow? Shakespeare used snow as a symbol for purity and whiteness in several plays. A hymn that was often sung in the churches I attended from early childhood through my High School years was the hymn, “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus”, written by Ro­bert Low­ry.

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Truer words were never sung. The sacrificial gift Christ has given us through his death and resurrection has given us hope and made us pure. May every snow fall remind us of this beautiful sacrifice Christ undertook, to bring us close to God.

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:14