WHITER THAN SNOW

 

A rain-snow mix has been pouring all day as I write this blog. Our landscape, recently dull brown and rust with fall and winter's chill, is now softly white-sculptured by millions of snowflakes. Pretty to look at, a chore to shovel—but I got out there and cleared the driveway and sidewalks. While doing so, the “snow event” got me thinking about the hymn with the line, “whiter than snow.”

Yes, it snows in the Holy Land. More on that later. The hymn connects with the adultery of King David. Though lauded as a warrior and leader, but he also had a sin problem. He lusted after the wife of one of his faithful soldiers. Their tryst resulted in a pregnancy. Seeking to cover it up, David had her soldier-husband placed at high risk in a battle to conveniently have him killed. Then he took the new widow home to add to his wife collection.

David's sin found him out, and he was chastised by one of the prophets. That's the back story of Psalm 51, where David comes off his throne of pride and confesses his sin. In repenting, he asked God to spiritually wash him and make him “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). On this side of Christ's bloody death on the cross, we understand the red-to-white analogy. The cross (red)—confessing our sins (black) and accepting God's forgiveness—is the only way to turn black to white, sin to “forgiven.”

As an aside, when David wrote, “Purge me with hyssop” (Psalm 51:7), he was referencing the Leviticus 14:1-8 ceremony using hyssop (a mint plant) and running water to cleanse a leper: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

The prophet Isaiah, in the same way, preached about sin and confession as he reached out to wayward Israelites: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

If your idea of Israel is a warm, arid land, visit this site with lots of Holy Land snow photos: snow in israel - Search Images .Then consider the snowiest cities in the U.S. snowiest place in usa - Search Images 

But this isn't a blog about snow. It's about a little-known man—occupation “postal clerk” in Philadelphia (and later in Washington D.C.) in the mid 1800s—who connected winter's white with scripture's memorable description of forgiven sin. James Nicholson (1828-1876) immigrated from Ireland and was active in Philadelphia's Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church for about twenty years. At church, he led singing and did evangelistic work.

His poem about sin and snow came to the attention of musician William J. Kirkpatrick, who attended the same church. Their combined efforts in matching words and tune would give us the enduring hymn that begins, “Lord Jesus I long to be perfectly whole” and includes the chorus, “Whiter than snow...”

That hymn, and another by Nicholson (“There's a Beautiful Land on High”) were included in Ira Sankey's 1878 “Sacred Songs and Solos.” Containing about 200 tunes written or arranged by Sankey, it was translated into many languages, with worldwide sales exceeding 50 million. Truly, God can accomplish extraordinary things through faithful, ordinary people. And no doubt Nicholson would have considered himself very “ordinary”--just an Irish immigrant, post office worker, who studied and wrote about birds and forensic (crime-scene) medicine--and wrote a memorable hymn.

Be reminded of the hymn's message through this You-tube video:

Bing Videos

ENDINGS

The cliched cartoons portraying December 31 through January 1st usually picture two figures. One's the bent-over, long-bearded old guy slumping off with his curved-blade scythe. The other: a pert, diapered infant toddling into the drawing. “All of life's a circle”--lyrics to a pop group's hit--come to my mind....until I'm reminded of how scripture pictures the transitions of life. It's not about an “old guy” going off life's stage. It's about the eternal One who formed us, purposed us, and has marked the day when “now” will become our “eternity”--“which” eternity being our choice.

I shake my head over how a midnight alcohol-fueled hoopla around a clock in New York City gets such big coverage. Instead of parties, a reconsideration of purpose should propel us into a new year. E.M. Bounds, author, attorney and minister (1835-1913) considered these issues, too. In Heaven: a Place, a City, a Home (Revell, 1921, p. 125) he wrote:

Heaven ought to draw and engage us. Heaven ought to so fill our hearts and hands, our manner, and our conversation, our character and our features, that all would see that we are foreigners, strangers to this world...Heaven is our native land and home to us, and death to us is not the dying hour, but the birth hour.

I rediscovered this Bounds quote in a book by a grieving father, Levi Lusko, Through the Eyes of a Lion (W Publishing Group, 2015, p. 171). Lusko, whose daughter died in childhood, wrote of life's brevity: “Far better than living in denial about the fact that our lives will end is facing up to it and living in light of it. The only people who are truly ready to live are those who are prepared to die.”

Lusko also reminded readers that Heaven isn't just about “getting through the gates” through faith in Jesus Christ. What happens in Heaven is connected to what happened on earth. He quoted 19^th century missionary-to-India and author Amy Carmichael: “We will have all of eternity to celebrate the victories, and only a few hours before sunset in which to win them.”

Half a century ago, “All of Life's a Circle” topped pop music charts. Perhaps that's true in why we call birth to death a “cycle of life.” But God's perspective is linear, not cyclical: birth to eternity—with two choices for the route. One ignores God or just gives Him lip service. The other is eternally purposed.

TOUGH TOOLS

Most household toolboxes or workbenches have tools like these, and they're helpful in building and repairing. But when their behavioral counterparts are used, watch out. If you've ever been unfairly criticized or demeaned, you've probably experienced the resulting emotional wounding. Maybe you've asked if God noticed or even cared. From the opposite perspective, maybe you endured the “blows” of shaping and correction when your behavior slipped from God-honoring choices.

When those questions have come to my mind, I've had an “attitude correction” from a quote I heard years ago by A.W. Tozer (1897-1963). An American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor and spiritual mentor, he was best known for writing The Knowledge of the Holy and The Pursuit of God. These are not “lite-fare” reading. They're chewy, soul-searching. What's more amazing is that Tozer, born into poverty, was self-educated through university level studies.

One quote that has stuck with me through the years is this:
It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.

One of the misconceptions about the Christian life is that after asking Christ into one's life, everything should be sweet and easy. Not so. We're “messes” that need a lot of shaping and hammering—often through unwelcome adversity—to pound out the spoiled attitudes that whine “it's all about me.” To continue Tozer's quote:
God actually rises up storms of conflict in relationships at times in order to accomplish that deeper work in our character. We cannot love our enemies in our own strength. This is graduate-level grace. Are you willing to enter this school? Are you willing to take the test? If you pass, you can expect to be elevated to a new level in the Kingdom. For He brings us through these tests as preparation for greater use in the kingdom. You must pass the test first.

In a few days, we'll flip our calendars over to not only a new month, but a new year. We cannot know what will happen in 2025—but God does. We might be tempted to pray, “Bless me bunches,” thinking of material things or happy relationships. But God may have another agenda, a better one, maybe a painful one, to shape us into the image of His beloved Son.

TRADITIONS!

 “Traditions”--that song from the 1964 Broadway musical “Fiddler on the Roof” comes to mind as I watch the world unfurl the yearly holiday expectations. Every November through end-of-December, they fill our short, dark, and cold (at least in my area) days with huge to-do lists. Parties, gifts, silly sweaters, shopping, greeting cards...and don't forget to put the manger scene in the front yard along with the blow-up Santa and save out a dollar for the store-front kettle where somebody's ringing a bell.

Do you get dizzy thinking of all that? I do. For those for whom a family death or serious health issue has changed family dynamics, the things that have become “Christmas” start sounding a little “tinny.” To adopt an amusing phrase of our times—usually reserved for somebody with a difficult personality or circumstance—it's a bit of a “hot mess.”

For some odd reason, I recently thought of my late mother's hobby of collecting novelty salt and pepper shakers. This had become a “thing” among many in the 1940s and 1950s. She had so many that most sat hidden in an upper kitchen cupboard. The “tradition” that made those little containers the “must-have” hobby simply faded. Yes, there are folks around who still “collect.” My quick online check revealed someone selling 101 salt-pepper pairs for $475. But far fewer are enchanted than were a half century or more ago.

Maybe this is too big a stretch, but I wonder if some of our holiday must-dos are as compulsive as stacking pairs of novelty salt-and-pepper shakers in a display cupboard. At the bottom line, how much is really necessary? How much truly honors the true reason for the season: the fulfillment of God's promise to send His Son as a Savior?

Yes, I admit to embracing some “traditions” in my holiday celebration. One is sewing pajama pants for my grandsons, along with the trip to the fabric store so that they can pick out their favorite print. This year, as they scrambled up and down the flannel and fleece aisles, the cutting-table clerk watched them in wide-eyed disbelief. What can I say? At 8, 10 and 12, my grandsons can explode with energy. By the time Christmas morning comes, they have figured out which package holds the “jammies.”

It must run in the family genes. In my childhood Christmases, one of my “traditional” gifts would be a new nightgown that my mom sewed. But we had another tradition before opening gifts: that of my dad reading the Christmas story from Luke's Gospel. I'm glad he did. Although I was probably as itchy as my grandsons to dive into the packages under the tree, I needed that Biblical reminder that the holiday's real name was not “Giftmas,” but Christ-mas.

THE OPPOSITE OF SNARKY....

The English language has some fun onomatopoeic words—meaning they “sound like” the action. I thought of that as we go through the holiday season with its rush-buy-party-etc busyness, and people can tend to get short-tempered. Or to use the “sound-like” word, snarky. It's defined as “bad-tempered, irritable, sarcastic, critical, indirectly mocking.” It dates to 1866 when “snark” also described how people “snorted” to express their displeasure. You get the picture.

Actually, we don't have to wait for December's holiday rush and frustrations for that personality transformation. Some people, sadly, are just that way, even past adolescence when the egotistic “everything's all about me” tends to surface in many. Whether through “attitude” or negative words, “snarkiness” wounds and often doesn't care.

My run-ins with snarky people probably have sensitized me to its depictions in the Bible. Surely that was true of the Pharisees in their reaction to Jesus. Or others who couldn't figure out why this carpenter's son from a little northern town was making such a big splash.

I suspect the apostle Paul struggled with that attitude when he was a good-and-proper (and negative) Pharisee. Then Christ stopped this hate-filled man in his tracks with a blinding, get-your-attention encounter. I “sense” the memory of this life-changing encounter in Paul's writings, like these naming "snarky's" opposite--gentleness--a word which in English carries a soothing feeling in its pronunciation:

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:5)

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

I'll keep this blog short. I think “gentleness” is best spoken of quietly. And I'll end with hopes that you will visit this gentle You-Tube of Bill Gaither singers sharing “Gentle Shepherd." As you listen, remember the One who called Himself the "Good Shepherd" and whose first post-birth visitors were....shepherds.

Bill & Gloria Gaither - Gentle Shepherd - YouTube

INEDIBLE!

Lots of tree shade and a soil acidity change combined as a “welcome mat” for some unwanted visitors late this fall. I woke up, looked outside, and behold—lots of little white “umbrellas” under the backyard fir trees, which have a thick rug of moist needle “mulch” underneath them.

Forget the cutesy drawings of little fairies or gnomes pulling a mushroom out of the ground for a quickie umbrella. Some mushrooms are edible, but many are not. In fact, they can make you very sick or even kill. They have lovely names like “Death Cap” and “Destroying Angel.” Not savvy enough to know what these were, I went the safe route. Donning my garden gloves, I pulled up each mushroom, dumped it in a bag, and then dropped the bag in the trash.  Not one to take chances, I'll reserve my “mushroom hunting” to the little cans at the grocery store!

If you research “mushrooms” on the internet, your blood may run cold from the warnings of toxicity of many varieties. But the edible ones are there, too. One ad promoted a pound of dried morel mushrooms for $222. Re-read the amount: a pound! I understand why: hard to find. But they're free to foraging animals—bears to boars—who find them in the wild and go yum yum.

It's okay if, after reading a bit about mushroom hunters, you read Jeremiah 15:16 (KJV) with a different perspective:

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

And maybe a chorus from the 1970s-or-so will come to mind with its music to these verses in Psalm 19:9-10 (KJV):

 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

I'm not implying any connection with the Bible and mushrooms, other than that the Bible often uses very ordinary comparisons to help us understand heavenly truths. Yes, finding honey was a big deal in Bible times. As for me, I don't think I've ever eaten a morel mushroom. The cheap canned stems and pieces on the grocery shelf, yes. The common fresh ones in the produce section (great for stir-fry), yes.

And maybe here's another lesson. God sometimes uses earthly analogies to help us understand heavenly realities. Even as we eat food (including “safe” mushrooms) to sustain our earthly bodies, our “spiritual nutrition” needs to include scripture. What's written there didn't suddenly pop up overnight. But it's pure enough and “nutritious enough” to keep us growing closer to God.

SOOTHING

I found myself encouraged recently by little slips of paper—the ones that wrap cough drops. A siege of illness (bad stuff: pneumonia) found me grabbing both cough syrup and cough drops while the “big gun” of antibiotics worked on the real bacterial culprit inside. Cough, cough, unwrap, plus a smile from wrapper messages like these:

Be resilient. Be unstoppable. Conquer today. Don't wait to get started. Dust off and get up. Elicit a few “wows.” Fire up those engines! Get back in the game. Get through it. Go get it! High-five yourself. Keep your chin up. March forward! Put your game face on. Turn “can do” into “can did.” You got it in you.

Whoever gave cough drop manufacturers the idea of turning wrappers into encouragement notes deserves some high-fives. We all need verbal boosts, whether written or spoken.

Trust me, I've also experienced discouraging words in the past. Like the day I answered the phone to hear the caller say, “I hate you!” Recognizing the voice, I told the caller I sensed this would be a negative call, and I was hanging up. Seconds later, the phone rang again. I decided not to answer, and quickly erased their ensuing negative recorded message. Similar messages showed up in my E-mail box--and again, a quick “delete.”

To complete the story, I need to mention that years later I received from this person a postcard with the brief message, “Please forgive me for being unkind to you in the past.” Yes, a generic admission, but it was at least some “ownership” of wrong-doing.

In day-to-day life in our fallen world, we'll all endure unfair “discouraging words.” In some cases, we need to avoid regular contact with that person. But there is a “contact point” to never, never skip. That's the link between earth and heaven available with prayer. Persistent “word-wounding” represents a problem needing the healing touch of Jesus.

Yes, Jesus--the innocent One who endured a grueling death while passers-by mocked and insulted Him on that notorious skull-hill of execution. Where the perfect One gasped, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The One who is our model and source of spiritual healing in a broken world deeply needing encouraging words. Not cough-drop sayings, but God-infused words of love, trust and hope.