Whiter Than Snow, Lord

Matthew 2:1-2 – Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and have come to worship Him." (RSV)

Our children have invited us to visit Minnesota with them this winter. We can't wait to go. If it were possible, I would buy a few extra pairs of eyes to help me take in all the beauty that I'm expecting to see. We've never lived outside the Deep South. We've never even visited outside the Deep South.

How will a simple mind like mine operate trying to find God in a billion snowflakes — when I could not explain His presence in the few flakes that I have already studied with utter amazement! Yes, we get a few dozen flakes at least once per decade.

More marvellous than ten billion snowflakes, more miraculous than the birth of my own child, is the birth of God's child, Jesus!

He wants to wash us whiter than snow, and I'm told that I can't imagine how white snow is. The hymn writer penned these words that I have sung all my life:

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

– James Nicholson

May we see the newborn Jesus in every snowflake that falls, in every falling leaf, in every foot of sandy beach, and, yes, in every boggy acre of swamp land.

Prayer: Almighty God, You who are far beyond our conception and yet closer than the breath we breathe, come afresh to us in this Advent season. We want others to see Jesus in us — not just in the amazing world around us. Amen.

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