White as Snow
Today’s Verse:
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ~Isaiah 1:18
A few years ago, while preaching in the Philippines, one of the pastors told me of an area that they reach people in that is one of the filthiest areas in the world. The stench from the refuse that has built up will cling to your clothes. There are flies by the droves in that garbage-infested area that cling to the skin and clothing of the inhabitants. The people who live there have gotten used to the conditions, smell, disease, and filth. It is considered a despicable area. As he spoke of the work that they are doing there to reach people with the gospel, it reminded me of the sinfulness of the world that we live in. Sometimes, we can be so immersed in this world that we do not realize how much it pollutes our lives. We need a cleansing from the filth and garbage that we get exposed to.
We see an appeal.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.” The Lord is requesting His people to come to their senses. They are being beckoned to meet God on His terms and on the ground of His holiness. Sin robs you of good sense. The stages in a sinful decline are no sense, no shame, and no stopping. We need to see from God’s viewpoint that we have spiritually declined and that our soul is defiled.
We see an approach.
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” God does not want us to remain defiled and polluted with sin. He wants His people to approach Him in humility for spiritual cleansing and washing. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is always approachable. We must seek His face with the desire of being thoroughly washed from our sinful tendencies and being restored in right fellowship with Him.
We see an analogy.
The cleansing that God gives us results in us becoming “white as snow.” The whiteness of snow is lovely. The whiteness of snow has a luster. The whiteness of snow is a perfect picture of how purified God wants His people to be. God does not want His people to be partially clean, but wholly clean! “Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” It is like the wool of sheep in its purest form. This kind of whiteness has no detectable stains or spots.
Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. "What a fitting illustration all this makes!" said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED -- GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE. [Source Unknown] What a picture of a sin-stained life: slightly soiled in price! Our value, effectiveness, and usefulness are diluted and worthless until we are cleansed and purified.
In closing, God says, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” The best path after we have been restored is to walk with God with a willing and obedient heart—to be always in a state of saying, “Yes, Lord.”
Is your life slightly soiled and in need of washing? Take a moment to come to the Lord for cleansing and purifying. Make sure that your fellowship and effectiveness is on par with God!
Have a purified God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Mark 6-7