Snow and Forgivensss

Yesterday's snowfall was unexpected and lovely, blanketing the area in a sheet of white. Snow is
a wonder, with its fluffy whiteness covering all the dirt and detail of the landscape. For a short time, it makes us think everything is clean, pristine and perfect.  If only it could stay that way forever!

This is how our Father God sees each person in Christ. We are drawn into Jesus' life of perfection through the grace he gives us, and we are given a right relationship with God just as freely as the snow falls. The difference between the two, is that forgiveness will stay that way forever! The Father will always see us as clean and forgiven, righteous in Jesus and beloved.

This time of year, we celebrate the death of Jesus for us, and his resurrection for us too. We get to meditate often over the the wonder of God's freely-given love and forgiveness, the awesome depth of the sacrificial love of God for us, and the amazing all-inclusive nature of his plan for us that covers every contingency and will eventually redeem everything. We couldn't have dreamed it up, we can't really understand it, and we can't possibly give him enough thanks for it, but we surely ought to try!

One more thing:  that same forgiveness, grace, and inclusion the Lord God Almighty offers us, we are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to find ways to extend to others too. That includes the smelly homeless woman who hasn't had a bath in months, the addict who can't seem to find a way out of his hopelessness, and everyone who has ever offended us. Each of those is also loved, infinitely, by the same God who loves us in spite of the broken and hurtful ways we each live. (Yes, that includes me, dear reader, and somebody in your life could tell you that includes you.)

Let's rejoice, this season of renewal and new life, in God's amazing love. And let's make an effort to give that love and acceptance to someone else too. Even someone we might think doesn't deserve it.