This particular snow fell when the temperature hovered just around 32 degrees. As a result, it was a sticky snow which clung to every surface on which it fell. Out in front of our house is a mature maple tree with sturdy outstretched limbs which support a multitude of branches which in turn carry hundreds of twigs. As a result of the sticky snow, every one of these was perfectly piled with as much snow as each could possibly carry. It was truly a stunning sight. As I looked longer, I noticed that the underside of all of the limbs, branches and twigs remained uncovered by the snow. Of course, snow falls from above, not below.

 In that moment came a realization, no doubt from God the Spirit; from my vantage point, which is below the tree, I still see unadorned brownish gray limbs. If I could look down from above however, all I would see is white.

As I stand below at the base and I look up at the branches of my life, I see the raw and rough bark of my humanity, I see the wounds of lightning strikes, the dead branches that still hang off the trunk, healed over scars from limbs that long ago detached. While I can see the white of the snow draping over the edges, the uncovered blemished bark is in full view. 

But what would I see if I looked from above? Nothing but white. Does it mean that the rough undersides do not exist? Of course not, but they are covered. Could this be how God sees us when we receive His gift of forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son?

 Is this what God was saying through Isaiah when he wrote, “Though your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as white as wool.” Isa. 1:8

Is this what God was prefiguring when the Israelites put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts so that the angel of death might not see what was below and pass over?

Was this what John the Baptist alluded to when he announced the arrival of Jesus at the Jordan River as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?

Is this what John the apostle reminded the first disciples of when he wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?

I cannot even tell you how many times this picture of the snow-laden tree has come to mind. I have lied, I have judged, I have said something hurtful , I have been angry, impatient, I have felt ashamed, unworthy. Nevertheless what does God say about how He sees me? I see the ugly branches. Do You really still see the snow? Am I truly robed in the righteousness of Christ my savior. The image of the snow- draped maple tree in my front yard adds a powerful visual to the promises of scripture.

“For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2Cor.5:21

 His view is the true view no matter what I see from below.

What about you? How does this picture of a pure white tree help you to believe that that sin, that thing that seems so unforgivable, when brought to Christ and confessed, is covered by the blood of the Lamb of God and made white as snow? The One who dwells above sees from above – white as snow.

–MM