[reprinted from November 2, 2010]
“Come now, let’s settle this,†says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. Â Â Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)
Have you ever seen a fresh snow fall? In order to appreciate it, the snow has to fall during the night and you have to get up before anyone walks or drives their car over it. It is an extraordinary sight! It is soooo quiet that you feel like you are in a new world. Everything seems clean and new. And then there is snow ice cream! Yum!
God says that He takes my ‘scarlet’ sins and makes them like this brand new, pure white snow. That is what He planned and promised. He had Isaiah remind His people. Then when The Promise came, Jesus’ scarlet Blood washed me clean. I remember the night that I felt that clean. I came up out of the water and I felt – like I must have felt after my very first bath those many, many years ago at St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, MO. This time, however, I am transparently clean. There is nothing of the old me left.
It is a step of faith, I think, to believe what God has promised and what He has done. There’s a ‘replay’ button inside me that someone tries to keep pressing. Whether it is me or someone who reminds me of my past, it is easy to allow the tape to play in my head and think about from where I have come and what I was. It is also easy to put that ‘old pair of shoes’ back on. My old self can seem comfortable and accessible. Making a choice to stay to the path I now have is an exercise in learning a new habit. I want to learn and grow. I want to set my sights on my standard – Jesus.
And when I sin – it is a place that I can turn from and start anew. Every time I come to God with a repentant, humble heart and ask Him to make me brand new, He rejoices that His child is home. To take time every day (just like I take time to brush my teeth or my hair) and allow God to examine me, calling to my mind the areas for which I need to repent, is good spiritual hygiene. What a wonderful way to start each day – pure white and brand new!
At the Cross written and sung by Brian Doerksen
