|
Home |
|
About Us |
|
Pastor's page |
|
Services & Programs
|
|
News & Events |
|
Related Links |
|
Contact Us |
|
Pastor’s page |
|
From my heart to yours…
February 2012
“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 as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient…” Isaiah 1:18 – 19
Our most recent Pacific Northwest snowfall was a beauty to behold! The large flakes cascading straight down, pulled by gravity but not buffeted by wind, falling in complete silence and covering all that they touched until every bush, tree, post or lamp had a glistening purely white outline of the image that was underneath. It was a moment that invited us to celebrate how creation points to the Creator.
The ancient prophet spoke to the historic community and used word pictures describing snow in order to point people to God. Who knows, perhaps the prophet spoke in the winter time and snow was covering the countryside like what happened this week?
At any rate, the message proclaimed was one of invitation. Through the mouth of the messenger, God invited the people to come to Him and to reason together with Him regarding their national life. God described to them plainly the sufferings and the setbacks they were experiencing as a people and drew a direct line of connection between their collective struggles and their unforgiven sins. God wanted them to comprehend spiritually, mentally and emotionally that their current situations were due in large part to their stubbornness to conduct life their way and to snub God in the process.
In inviting the people to collectively come to Him and to comprehend their setting differently, God used the illustration of the deep, staining redness of sin and the completely clean, glistening purity of forgiveness. God did not offer to simply overlook the sins of the community by winking at the people and giving them a pass. Instead, God dealt truthfully with the sins of the community, identifying the deep stains of communal sin that had negatively scarred their psyche, soul and character. As a result of His honest evaluation, God offered them a life-changing alternative: the cleansing of forgiveness.
Complete and thorough cleansing that removes all trace evidence of the deepest stains of sin comes only through forgiveness. We who create the stains of sin are so scarred and damaged by them that we are unable to eradicate them on our own, thus requiring an outside agent. The agent is Jesus the Son of God whose sufferings in crucifixion and death have made the way possible for our transformational forgiveness and cleansing.
The forgiveness of God toward our sin is so thorough and comprehensive that we are described as looking like snow. Just as we see objects covered in layers of crisp, newly-fallen snow, so we are covered over by the forgiveness of God through Jesus the Son so that, when God looks at us, He does not see our sins but, instead, He sees the covering of brilliant, translucent, multi-faceted cleansing. The image of who we are is underneath, much like how we identify the shapes of bushes, trees, mail boxes, fences, lamps, etc. that are under the snow. Yet, we are now covered with the layers of God’s forgiveness and cleansing that both remove the deep stains of sin and empower us to live in new ways as a transformational community.
Snowfall that is beautiful and inspirational is only temporary at best. The transformational forgiveness and cleansing of God through Jesus in us is abiding and permanent. What is required of us is to “be willing and obedient.” Saying “yes” to God is to be forgiven. Saying “yes” to God is to be cleansed. Saying “yes” to God is to demonstrate our willingness to follow Him and be obedient to His leadership in our lives and in our community.
The next time you see snow, listen to the still, small voice of God inviting you to “Come, let us reason together…”
See you Sunday!
Pastor Shane |
|
First Baptist Church of Gresham |
