A Sermon in the Snow

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though

your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow..." (Isa. 1:18)

I have always loved to see the beauty of fresh, fallen snow, but isn't it amazing that something as beautiful as snow can be so hazardous? We may be tempted to ask, "What good is snow?...What useful purpose does it serve?"

Just as amazing to me is not only the beauty of snow, but also the fact that snow does serve very important purposes. The prophet Isaiah said as much almost 3,000 years ago in Isaiah 55:10, For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.
Job 38:22 speaks of the treasures of snow indicating that there is something precious about snow. What are the "treasures of snow?" According to scientists, snow is a proven "must" for our survival. Snow provides a "top coat" to keep the earth from freezing; protection for seeds in the freezing winter; a purifying, cleansing agent for the soil; and snow also provides streams and reservoirs with an abundance of . water as it melts. Snow has other purposes besides the obvious scientific ones.

I believe that the glory of God is seen in the snow. Job 37:5-7 states, God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou. on the earth;...He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. We learn from history that the armies of Napoleon were stopped because of the snow when they marched against the army of Russia. There stands a monument today at Coblentz erected to commemorate the French campaign against the Russians in 1812 which turned out to be a huge failure because of God's snow. 40,000 men set forth for Moscow, but only 25,000 returned. It was nothing else but the elements which turned back Napoleon's army. Czar Alexander did not forget, and in recognition of the divine interposition and help, he struck a medal with the legend, “NOT TO ME, NOT TO US, BUT UNTO THY NAME.” we know also that Hitler's armies were stopped also by the fierce, Russian snow. The lessons are plain,...snow serves God's purposes.

Snow is also a symbol of purity. In Daniel 7: 9, the prophet describes the Ancient of Days as one ...whose garment was white as snow. Isn't it interesting that the same symbolism is used to describe the child of God? He giveth snow like wool (Ps. 147: 1 6). (See also Isaiah 1:18, above). When snow falls, it provides a coat that beautifies everything it covers. In this respect snow is just like the blood of Christ which covers our sins and cleanses us so that when God looks at us, He does not see as sinners but as His children whose garments are made white.

Finally, snow is a mystery, just like the church. J. Wilson Bentley, devoted his life to the study of snowflakes. He stated that after photographing over 10,000 snowflakes he found no two that were exactly alike, although they all had six sides. He claimed the entire countryside from Maine to California could be covered with snow a foot deep and yet no two snowflakes would be found that were exactly alike. In the same way, we are all very much alike in our physical makeup, but yet we are all different. God has created each of us with a unique personality. We could say that there is a unity in diversity. Just as each snowflake is created different, so were we all created in the image of God, but yet each one of us is different. And just like the snow, we were created individually to glorify God, and to do His purposes.