So we got our first snowfall (other than a quick snowstorm in October) this past weekend. Of course the temperatures are to rise again so it will not last too long. The kids enjoyed being out in the snow on Saturday. (I will post some pics soon. I am having trouble with my card reader.)
It has been foggy and rainy. We started the week with a very dreary type of Monday. But God was making me think as I drove back to work after lunch yesterday. I am visual and like to have a picture of a concept or thought. It makes a more lasting impression on me and my heart. Here is what I was thinking...
At the moment of salvation I have been washed clean, whiter than snow. However, over time I become dingy and dirty, because let's face it, I'm human=a sinner. I often need a good cleaning. (Kind of like my car right now.) I know that God offers me grace and forgiveness (like rain), but unless I am willing to scrub the dirt (sin) out of my life the dingyness remains in my life, making it difficult to see the beauty of God's holiness. I have to be willing to turn from the sin, scrub it away, so that God's glory and grace shines through.
The rain today only washed the surface dirt off my car. It will take a good scrubbing to get it clean. I can take the forgiveness I have been offered, but unless I desire transformation from that grace and forgiveness, I am going to be needing the rain again (and soon). (How often do we find ourselves asking for forgiveness for the same sins?)
God loves me. He loves me so much that He not only wants to forgive me, He wants to make me new. As I continued my drive I thought about the fact that in just a few weeks there will be a day when the air will be clean and the ground will be springing with new life. Without the cleansing of winter's snow and the renewal of rain, the new life of springtime would lack it's luster and joy.
What about you? Are you skating by, enjoying the benefits of God's grace and forgiveness (rain) but not really experiencing the joy that is available to you through true transformation? Transformation requires a bit of time and scrubbing in our lives, and sometimes it's painful, but the result is a spring in your step and joy in the abundant life you were called to live. That's what I want. Joy because I have hope. (Romans 12:12) Hope that I can be changed and be more like Christ because HE is in the business of new life.
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