White As Snow

I have to admit that I am thoroughly exhausted this morning.  At the last minute, I decided to go on a high school retreat this past weekend as a leader, and it was definitely the best decision I could have made.  It was an incredible weekend for the girls and we had an amazing speaker who was about as direct as they come, to put it bluntly.  Needless to say, late nights and early mornings, coupled with screaming and yelling through Powderpuff games, scavenger hunts, and dance parties has left me exhausted. 

Yet there was something of utmost importance that we discussed throughout the weekend and that I feel strongly about sharing: sin.  I hate talking about sin as much as the next person, particularly my own sin.  I am so thankful to be forgiven from sin by our wonderful Father and through the sacrifice at Jesus Christ, but I prefer to think of it vaguely and only then of the good parts (aka forgiveness/mercy/grace of God).  This weekend, however, our very blunt speaker threw our sin right in our faces, making it unavoidable not to think about it. 

Now I am in the habit of thinking that my sins are “not so bad.”  I mean, I haven’t killed anyone, stolen anything, or committed adultery, right?  So how bad can I really be?  And yet the Lord, in His great justice, does not judge based on the human perception of a sin’s seriousness.  While I may not be thrown in prison for lying to my boss about why I was late to work,  God still sees my “white lie” as a sin, comparable to any other sin.  I guess I’ve always imagined that since God loves me, His child, so much, He’ll just forgive my minor transgressions and judge others more harshly.  And yet, in the midst of that thinking, I’ve disregarded the holiness of God.  Our Father is the holiest of holies, the purest of pure, and the most just of all, and because of that, He simply cannot stand sin of any kind.  It doesn’t matter what kind of sin it is- in His eyes, all sin is sin.

What a harsh picture of our unworthiness!  In this world, we’re brought up to believe that we are “better” than those whose sins are more severe, whose sins involve the taking of a life or the violation of another’s human or civil rights.  And yet, in God’s eyes, all sin is equal.  If we allow it to, our guilt can thoroughly crush our spirit.

The one thing that grants us hope is Him who we sometimes take for granted:  Jesus Christ.  Through His death on a cross and our acceptance of Him, our sins are washed away, and we become as white as snow.

"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.”

–Isaiah 1:18

Going even further, if we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, when the Lord looks upon us, He no longer sees our sinful selves but instead sees His son Jesus.  That absolutely blows me away!  God loves me and views me in the same light as Jesus Christ, His one and only son, who is completely sinless and blameless.

Though our sins are great, He has redeemed us.  Let us praise God for His great love and mercy!

None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live. 

–Ezekiel 33:16