WHITER THAN SNOW

You pretty much date yourself as an old guy if you hear someone talking about a hard drive crash and you think of the movie Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean. (If the previous sentence makes no sense to you, then just forget it and move on—it’s ancient history.) If you have emerged into the 21st century, then hearing about a hard drive crash will mean something far different, and may even cause you to break out in a sweat.

What To Do When Your Hard Drive Crashes
If you have a computer hard drive “crash,” you are, of course, unable to get to (access) your computer stuff (a/k/a information). At this point, you have several options. First, you can look under Trouble Shooting Guide in the manual that came with your computer—well, maybe not. That assumes you can find the manual. The manual, if it can still be called that, may be “online,” which, of course, you can’t get into because your computer is on life support.

Anyway, if you could read computer manuals or find the right computer site to tell you what to do, you probably would not have screwed up your computer, to begin with. If that is the case, just cancel all your plans and appointments for the next two weeks, and go directly to the Hard Drive Losers Store.

When you get to the Hard Drive Losers Store, it is best to go ahead and approach the counter on your knees. The guys who work there kind of expect that. They know you are approaching a core meltdown because all of your work from the past four years and a few thousand family pictures are inside that mortally wounded computer you are holding in your sweaty hands.

Just to make sure you know just who it is your life depends on, they like to ask, “Do you have a back-up?” Instinctively, you want to yell at them: “If I had a back-up, I would not be on my knees in front of your counter!” Don’t do that. 

Sadly, and as maddening as it is, you need these guys. They have some sort of brain that connects with an obscure pathway of knowledge in the universe that tells them how to dig up all your hard drive “stuff” and get it back. So, forget the yelling. Quickly and quietly admit you haven’t done “that back-up thing” since August, as in two years ago (knowing full well it is more like four). Then brace yourself for the cost estimate.

The cost of recovering the information stored on your busted hard drive is based on a precise mathematical formula: The kind of work you do; multiplied by the estimated amount of sweat pouring off your body; to the third power if your wife doesn’t know that your children’s photo albums are now just a dark black hole on your computer screen.

Erasing the Past
It is widely believed that there is a record somewhere of everything we have ever done over the Internet. Understandably, that might be a source of angst for a lot of folks. It would be such a relief to be able to erase all the evidence of those emails that should never have been sent, the photographs of conduct best forgotten, or the activities where you wish you had just stayed home.

It is not only the “back then,” however, it is also “the here and now.” That might be the anger you showed this morning, the aggravation and attitude you expressed an hour ago, or the hate you feel right now, all bits of memory swirling about in your head. These are memories of sins that you really want to get rid of and, for sure, never want to get back.

Snow
Every winter, I hope for snow. Atlanta doesn’t get much snow; more ice storms, it seems. Yet, when it does snow, even just a few inches, the area around the city turns into a winter-wonderland—cold and clean. A refreshing newness and beauty adorn even the simplest and most common items. A rotted log, a pile of leaves, even a tool left outside on the patio are transformed into a clump of pure white crystalline artistry.

Snowfall is also beautiful in the woods at night, as the snow on the tree limbs and the forest floor reflect the light of the moon and stars, driving the darkness from the land. It is reminiscent of the description in the poem, A Visit From St. Nicholas, “The moon on the crest of the new-fallen snow gives a luster of midday to objects below.”

Hyssop
In ancient times, the hyssop plant grew wild in many areas. It was an aromatic herb that was thought to drive out illnesses and evil spirits. A clump of hyssop stems was formed into something like a paintbrush on a long handle and used to sprinkle the water of purification. During the Passover in Egypt, when the firstborn of every household was to die in judgment, the Hebrews were told to take a cluster of hyssop plants and dip it in lamb’s blood to daub on the lintels and doorposts of their houses. If they remained inside the home, they were covered by blood and protected.

When the angel of death passed over their houses, he would see the blood and pass over the home. The firstborn of that household was protected from the wrath that killed many thousands of Egypt’s children. The blood on the doorposts foreshadowed the death of Christ on the cross that saved us from our sin (John 19:29).

Good News
Sometimes our lives simply crash. Marriages crumble, children rebel, jobs evaporate, money is depleted, and, many times, it all seems to happen at once. When we reflect on what brought us to that point, the response that often emerges in our minds is to blame; to rationalize, excuse, and cast ourselves as victims. These thought patterns minimize our own responsibility and only send us on a path of resentment, bitterness, and defeat.

The other equally dangerous path is to throw in the towel. “I thought I was better than that.” When you see that you weren’t, you can fall into the shadow of despair.

The good news is that though you can’t deal with the sins you commit, God can and does.

The Apostle John described the link between walking in the light, fellowship, and the continuing cleansing power of the blood of Christ, and how it all ties into confessing your sins:

Confession is often confused with ritual practices such as private confessionals, walking the aisle of a church, or “making amends” to God by paying alms or performing “good works.” What John means by confession (ὁμολογέω homologeo), however, does not involve any of those efforts. Confession means acknowledging our sins to God, who in turn cleanses us and releases us from the bondage that sin has over our hearts and minds. Confession is “calling it like it is” in our response to the Spirit’s promptings of conviction and the enlightened conscience of our minds as we walk with Him in the light of His Word.

No Sin is Too Great for God to Forgive
David, the King of Israel, committed adultery and murder. David understood that there was no sacrifice he could offer or work he could perform to escape the death sentence he faced under the Law of Moses. He also understood that the Lord is sovereign over sin and that he alone has power upon earth to forgive sins and cleanse him from all unrighteousness (Luke 5:24). Thus, David prayed:

Think about it. That can be you, purged and purified—cleansed from all unrighteousness—whiter than snow. That is precisely what the Lord promises when we come to Him in faith and confess our sins. That is far more than a recovered hard drive—this is a whole new operating system—a system purged of the old and reformatted with the new. That is forgiveness—the sending off of the sin, punished and paid for, like the covering of new-fallen snow that brings a luster of light to our lives here below.

One more thing to note: the Lord does not shame us like those computer guys. There is no crawling and no charge. He picks us up, again and again, and never, ever gives up on us:

For we are risen and stand upright.  –Psalm 20:8

That means you.

Harper sends