…though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Isaiah 1:18a
If you were to ask me what color my little Malti-Poo is I would tell you that he is white–well, most of the time anyway. He is white…until he happens to walk outside in the snow. Then I would say he’s kind of a dingy, yellowish color. The stark contrast of his otherwise “white” fur, against the whitest white of a “pure driven snow” is pretty amazing. As we were standing outside during a recent snowfall, I was reminded of this phenomenon and then it hit me…that’s us, right? Sinful man? Outwardly, we can appear so clean and pristine, especially to those who don’t really know us, and even at times, to ourselves. But standing against a backdrop of pure holiness? The blinding white purity of God’s holiness sheds light on our dingy, dirty, inward ways. It cuts to the core of who we really are. That can actually be a good thing, for those times when there is something within us that needs to change, for the better of course.
Here’s the really, really good news though: During the course of human history, there have been two particular gardens of great significance. One involved a great fall, the other involved a love-stained lifting up. In the Garden of Eden, all of humanity inherited a sin nature, originally from the Fall of Adam. However, many generations later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ, both fully human and fully divine, for the briefest moment in time, asked through blood, sweat and tears for that cup to pass, but only if it were possible. Ultimately, Jesus was willing to be lifted up on that torturous cross to die on behalf of all humanity, in order to pay our sin debt in full! In fact, that was the very reason that He came. God so loved us, He sent us a Savior; and the Son, hanging on a blood-soaked cross, willingly obeyed.
Considering the supreme cost of that sacrifice, our part seems so simple: BELIEVE. TRUST. OBEY. The free gift of salvation extends to anyone and everyone who acknowledges they are sinners in need of forgiveness; for those who seek the flowing grace, mercy and loving-kindness that God offers through a deeply personal relationship with Him.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.. Psalm 51:7
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught an important distinction: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) For me, the key phrase is…as your heavenly Father is perfect. While we may strive toward it, we do not possess perfection. (Not yet, anyway.) It is God’s perfection, working within us, that allows us to radiate any degree of pureness or holiness, or to be a guiding light for others. Perfection certainly doesn’t originate from within man–with our competing sinful nature it would be impossible. But we do know that with God, all things are made possible…
Following an encounter with a young, rich man who was unable to part with his riches for the sake of the Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25b-26)
We cannot save ourselves–just as no patient could ever perform their own life-saving surgery. Only one who holds a medical degree, a license, and are adeptly skilled and qualified would be able to operate. In much the same way, only sinless perfection could take away the sin of the world; our Master Physician, our sacrificial Lamb without spot or blemish.
What we are able to do is to be a reflection of God’s holiness, as it is being woven by the Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of any life that is intent on seeking Him and following in the ways of our Lord, Jesus Christ. His presence within us casts that inner glow and allows us to warmly shine for his honor and glory.
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. (2 Samuel 22:31)