The weather here in St Louis has been rather warm most of the Winter. We had a week in mid December where we were really cold, in fact colder than Saskatoon. I'm not sure if we were warmer than Saskatoon because we were so cold or Saskatoon was unusually warm for a few days. Anyhow, we are used to some pretty cold weather, but so far it has been warm this year. It has given us a problem this year. Normally we have all of our yard work done by late October or early November, and our lawnmower and weed eaters are tucked away and put to bed to rest for a couple of months. But, with the warmer weather the grass and weeds have grown and made our yard a mess. I don't want to get the lawnmower and weedeater out of hibernation, so I have decided to live with the yard like this until March or April when the annual Spring ritual of prepping yard equipment gets started.
Last night though we got our first real snow of the year. Wewoke up with 2-3 inches of snow on the ground, and the yard looks great again. All the unsightly weeds and unkempt grass have been covered and now look good because of the universal covering of white snow. Everything looks beautiful again. Even though the weeds and long grass are still there they are covered up and unseen.
This reminds me of what Christ has done for us. We are all sinners, to the very root of our being. We all have sin in our life, and we know it is there, and because we are humans we will continue to sin as long as we are alive, but for those of us who have made the choice to follow Christ as our Lord and Savior, the sacrificial blood of Christ covers the payment of that sin for us. Christ paid the penalty for us so that the instant that we turn to Him, from that time until eternity, when God looks on us all he sees is that universal white covering, that purity we have been provided by knowing Christ.
Christ has given us the ultimate Extreme Makeover. We are transformed in God's eyes from unsightly weeds and long grass, to a universal covering of white.
Psalm 103:11-12. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
3 comments:
Rick- I have often thought of snow in the same way... that perfect metaphore for the redemptive work of Christ. Thanks for expressing it so clearly!
Unfortunately, some places have never seen snow. Therefore, the weeds and grasses there grow and die- and continue to do so- without having the snow cover their "unsightly" and "unkempt" beings. Why isn't the previlege of this redeeming snow bestowed upon weeds and grasses all over the world? To me, that's a very troubling question.
Every man in this world is one of those ugly weeds and grasses. Yet, only some enjoy the previlege of having Christ's blood anoint them with purity, so that in the very eyes of God, their ugliness is perfect because their sins have been forgiven. BUT many peoples of this world have lived and died, never hearing the Name of Christ. What about them- those weeds and grasses? Are some peoples destined to never have the Extreme Makeover?
Why are some weeds and grasses predestined to be born at places that have never seen the grace of snow? WHy are they made to die with their ugliness uncovered?
That's very sad and unfortunate.
-Sudarsun.
Sudarsun,
I agree that it is very unfortunate that not every one has heard of the good news of the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ. What you bring up is not an easy question to answer. For lack of space I will do my best to give you something to think about and we can talk in more detail about it when we see each other next.
First, it is our responsibility as those who know Christ to tell the lost of God's saving grace. In Acts 1:8 Christ commands us to do that when He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Those who haven't heard need to, and it is our job to tell them. That is why missionaries are so important, but so is living our lives before a lost world each and every day by each and every believer. This is one reason why I believe it is so important for believers to still maintain good, strong, close relationships with unbelievers. If we don't tell them how will they hear?
The other answer is that we worship a fair and just God. It isn't our place to wonder how God will sort it all out in the final judgment. Our responsibility is simply to tell as many of the lost as possible of Christ's sacrifice. As a just God He will do what he feels is right when the time comes. I believe people will also be judged according to the light they were given and what they did with it. Those of us who live in a country where we hear of Christ almost daily will be judged more severely than those who have not heard.
I am not much of a hard core Calvinist and don't believe that God will force his grace upon us, so even in our society where people hear of Christ I believe that God won't make them believe in the gospel, they have the decision to make to reject or accept it by their own free will.
Anyhow, sorry to make a long answer even longer, but I am looking forward to talking with you when I get back in a couple of weeks. I also have a great book on the subject that I will loan to you if you want to read it. God bless you Sudarsun and keep asking the hard questions.
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