Well I was shocked this morning when I opened the blinds to see snow on the ground. Were you? There was enough snow to cover most of the lawn and stick to the tree limbs in a really pretty way. I think what shocked me when I opened the blinds was the brightness coming from outside. Snow is so white it seems to put off its own light. No wonder the Bible mentions snow when talking about making things clean.

“Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

Seriously, can you imagine anything whiter than snow? Paper is white, but it still isn’t as white as snow. Like I said, it is so white it seems to emanate light. In fact, you can go snow blind if you are out in the snow for a long time without eye protection (that’s a real thing).

But snow doesn’t actually make any light. If you would like to test this, grab some snow this morning and take it inside to a dark closet. I’m sure your kids will be happy to bring some snow in the house for you. In that dark closet, can you use the snow like a glow stick? No, it’s dark just like everything else. What makes snow so white is that the tiny little ice crystals are reflective of the light outside. Snow is bright because the sky is bright.

Are you whiter than snow? Are you reflecting the light? When we take Jesus on in baptism, we don’t shine because of how clean we are, but because we should be reflecting Jesus and His love to others. Take a moment to look out the window this morning and see the snow and ask yourself, are you shinier than that?