Although we have been blessed with a long and beautiful Fall, we are reminded that one of the benefits to living in our part of the world is the gift of snow and the very strong probability of a white Christmas.  There is something about a white Christmas that rings true to the spirit of the holidays.  Perhaps it is connected with the myth of Santa Claus and the stories of the North Pole.  Perhaps it is related to our desire to stay home and stay warm with family and friends, and the snow helps to keep us indoors.  Or perhaps there is something about the snow that speaks to the real message of Christmas according to the Bible.

Snow has a wonderful quality when it first falls.  It acts like a thick large blanket draping over nature’s withering Fall landscape, replacing it with the purity of snow.  This image of pure white snow is one the Bible uses to talk about forgiveness of our sin, our wrongs, and our impurity that is only possible through Christ. “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.“  (Psalm 51:7, NLT)  The Bible uses the image of pure white snow to illustrate forgiveness that is possible through Christ.

At Christmas, we remember the birth of Christ, our Saviour.  Scripture says that Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17, NLT)

This Christmas, as the snow falls and gently blankets the ground, may you know the promise that Jesus offers: eternal life and forgiveness from sin for all those who believe.  Christmas is not just intended to remind us of the birth of Jesus, but also the purpose for which he came – to bring life, abundant and eternal for those who believe.  This new life, the reality of purity as white as snow, is re-communicated to us visually every time we look outside and see the blanket of white pure snow that gently falls to the ground.

This Christmas consider the image of snow.  Consider the forgiveness that is possible in Christ, in whom you may know the hope, love and joy that the Christmas season celebrates.  A celebration of Jesus – the baby who was born called “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.”

May you truly have a white Christmas!