And Down Came the Snow!

Like many places in Britain, we awoke on Sunday morning, 5 February 2012, to find St Paul's under a 10cm blanket of snow. Snow means such different things to different people. For the elderly it means great difficulty in getting out – and certainly getting to church. For those going on a journey it means the disruption of travel plans. For birds it means that they cannot get at their food sources. But for children it means a playground like no other. I have great memories of family outings with sledges to Thurnby, Gumley or Old John.

But in the Bible Snow is symbolic of supreme purity – what our lives can become with God's help – “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” _{Isaiah 1:18}

Once the sunlight comes out, nothing is brighter than snow – mountaineers can even suffer from snow blindness. In the Bible books of Daniel and Revelation, God himself is described as bright like snow.

As the brilliant snow turns to a dirty slush, may we remember what God really wants us to be like.