It was not much for several parts of the world, but I was greeted by a snowfall that blanketed our area this morning.  I arose early to get in my exercise at the track and found that the ordinarily black asphalt was a gleaming white that reflected the night sky and illuminated the entire sports complex.  An inch of snow had transformed the typical darkened field into a dazzling perfect whiteness only found after fresh snowfall.  As I made my tracks into the new powder with each stride, I could not help but be captivated by the moment. 

David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.  It is a dark and sad chapter in the life of a Godly man.  He was then confronted by Nathan the Prophet, and the façade of righteousness gave way to grief.  In Psalm 51, David pleads for God’s forgiveness, and there he asked God to wash his soul from the stain of sin.  He writes this powerful line, “Wash me and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalms 51:7). 

The Prophet Isaiah is confronting the people of Israel with their sins.  They have broken the law of God and turned away from his will.  But the words are filled with the hope that if they people will turn back to the Lord, he will forgive them and “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). 

The forgiveness of our sins, mistakes, trespasses, failures, and iniquities will not only clean our souls; it will make them white like the snow.  They will be pure, clean, and reflect the light of God dazzlingly and dramatically. 

This morning I saw the transformation of the landscape by an inch of fresh powder from heaven.  I can only imagine how breathtaking your soul must look when you come to God for forgiveness.  In Jesus, the old has gone, and the new has come.  Wash me, Lord, so that I can be whiter than snow.