black snow

as a transplant from Tennessee, I have learned a few things about Chicago weather over the past 4 years.  one is that winters are LONG and HARD.  the snow, the wind, and the freezing temps will tend to linger on through March and even April at times.  once you feel like it's over, there's another cold front that comes your way and snaps you back to reality.

yesterday was one of those days--sunny and 55 degrees.  everyone rejoiced.  people rode in their cars with their windows down (me).  runners hit the pavement.  men everywhere fired up their grills.  any excuse to go outside was taken advantage of and  I was no exception.  so, as soon as I got home, I threw on my running gear and headed out the door.

one thing to note is that as I mentioned before, the winters are HARD.  this winter was exceptionally so.  (by the records it was the hardest in like 20 years or something--not just by own personal experience, which will also testify to that.)  that means there was lots of snow.  so much so, that as it gets plowed from the streets and parking lots, there are huge mounds that are formed on the sides of the streets.  despite having temps above freezing for a few days, there were still some remnants of the snow mounds that remained at the bottom.  as I was running and dodging lots of puddles of water from this melting snow, I had quite the obvious observation.

the snow that's left is dirty.
black.
grimy.
and horribly unpleasant to look at.

unlike any form of snow that falls from the sky, this snow has sat there for MONTHS and turned a shade of brown that it never should have.  it has absorbed every ounce of exhaust from the cars that have driven past.  it has picked up the dirt and grime off the street as it was slung onto it from day to day.  it has soaked in the toxins from the environment around it.

this snow is an eye sore and it needs to go away.

but wait.  isn't snow white and fluffy and the thing of "winter wonderlands?" isn't it pure and spotless?  isn't it even represented in Scripture as something that cleanses us?

yes.  it's true.  in its natural state.

snow is clean until it's been corrupted by the environment around it.  it's not spoiled until the wear and tear of the winter--the cars and the smog and the CO2 soak in, making it black and yucky.

and the thought hit me.  I think people are like that too sometimes.

ever meet someone who is your same age, but looks 10 years older?  from time to time at my job, I will have a client who fits this description.  I am always amazed that we could have graduated the same year of high school and yet seem so utterly different.  almost every single time, I find out it's the wear and tear of life that has gotten to them--the amount of struggle, pain, addictions, or issues they have gone through that have smudged off their luster a bit.

although outside appearances may be one indication, it's truly our hearts that are most impacted.  ever meet someone who had it all together on the outside, but were crumbling away internally?  once the heat turned up, and the outside veneer seemed to fade away, what was truly underneath finally showed. and that was dark, dirty, and a little worse for the wear.

honestly, we are all like these snow banks.  we have been affected by sin, brokenness, and a corrupt world around us.  those things can't help but rub off on us over time.  so, when the spring comes and the temps soar, and the outside cleanliness is gone, the inner guts are revealed--and unfortunately, they are nothing but eye sores.

thank God for newness and cleansing that can only be found through Christ.  if it were up to me, I'd keep shoveling on new snow to keep anyone from noticing the black grossness beneath.  thankfully, I don't have to resort to that.  ya know why?  because that black crap gets taken away and replaced with new cleanness.  there's no need to cover and hide, b/c it has all been taken care of through the cross.  Jesus' blood has cleansed me in a way that my own efforts never could.

the Israelites in the Old Testament had a system in which they must make sacrifices for the cleansing of their hearts.  the problem was, these sacrifices were never quite enough--the snow always melted and the blackness resurfaced.  yet, when Jesus came, He served as the ultimate cleansing sacrifice.

"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" Hebrews 9: 13-14

"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7
may this season of Lent be a time that we reflect upon the cleansing sacrifice that only He can provide.  thanks be to God for the newness that is found in Christ!