White as snow
So I was reading the Old Testament Book of Leviticus the other day (don't ask) and was amazed at how much medicine the priesthood was responsible for. It's actually pretty interesting stuff! I got especially hooked on a section all about skin infections... how the priest would have to examine someone who suddenly developed a skin lesion or sore, and if it looked red or had raw flesh, he would quarantine the person for a week and then check it out again. I was especially surprised to read that when the sore turned white, the priest would then allow the person to come back into the community. That was because the whiteness of the sore meant that it was on its way to healing. if this is sounding gross to you, give me a minute before you quit reading.
Because it was at this point that something really hit home to me.
Maybe you've read in the Bible, or heard in songs, stuff about being "white as snow"... "though our sins are as scarlet, he washes them white as snow"... what that's saying is that when we are brought into a relationship with Jesus, our sins, our failures, our imperfections are covered over by his perfection and we become "white as snow." White is a color that represents purity, spotlessness. So God no longer sees our brokenness and rebelliousness, he sees the purity of Jesus that we are now clothed with. We are as "white" to him.
But this Leviticus thing connected something for me (WARNING: This is just a personal interpretation that I find neat). See, while God sees me as pure (though I'm not) because of Jesus, there is more to this "whiteness" Jesus is not just covering over it, but he's also healing me... so, yeah, the wounds are still there but they aren't as they were. They aren't life threatening, a worsening condition, but day by day God is healing me, making me "white as snow" from the inside AND the outside, working both together...
Man this is pretty gross, sores and scabs... what was i thinking? hope i've made at least a LITTLE sense to you :) If not feel free to talk back... feel free to talk back anyway, anytime. Peace.
posted by Dion @ 1/15/2006 05:34:00 PM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
Ewww. Gross. But good. I love the concept that you hit on in this (and you mentioned it in a message a little while back): When God looks at us, he sees the perfection of Jesus instead of the perfection of us. Somehow its comforting to think that it's not a 'perfectly clean US' that God sees, but instead, Jesus in our place. Did that make sense? Is that accurate? It sure makes a lot of sense to me when I try and figure out "how does God see us as clean when he knows all our sin"...then it clicked: maybe he's not seeing US as clean, maybe he's seeing Christ covering us. Love that. I'd love to hear your comments on that perspective.
I'm with you, bob! I'm not that comfortable imagining that God looks at me, Dion, and doesn't see my sin. That makes God sound naive or like he's in denial or something...everyone around me can see my sin, how can God NOT see it. So your statement "somehow its comforting to think it's not a 'perfectly clean US'..." makes total sense to me. I understand the comfort you speak of.
And from what I understand about the bible verses that inform this theology, the reason that God doesn't see our sin really is because Jesus' perfection covers us. My sin hasn't magically disappeared-which i think is a belief out there that then gets people thinking since their sin is completely gone, they are now responsible for continuing that perfection. (does that make sense? Here, i'll try again...) Some teach that once Jesus washes your sin away, then you've gotta keep it away by pure living. And if you mess up, you gotta go back to Jesus, give yourself to him again so he can repeat the process and you can try harder.
But what it seems the Bible is saying in places like Galatians 3:26-27, Rom 7:21-25 or Matt 22:1-13 is that my sin is still there, and that it'll keep troubling me causing me to struggle, only now it is covered over with the goodness, the purity of Jesus Christ. And I think that explains the mechanics of how our sin is "washed away" or taken away, it's more that it is covered over... but also like i was trying to say in this entry :) is that i know while it's being covered over, that God is in fact working in me, to heal me of that sin (thus all the talk about scabs and sores), right up until the day when i die and that sin dies once for all. And then I'll get a new body, a perfected one, without sin in it and then i'll be what God has intended from the beginning. Totally spotless, totally his.
This is hard stuff to grapple with, and I guess on some level all these things are metaphors meant to explain a reality we can't possibly grasp. Does any of this help?
The healing sores image is something I can connect with. We can also mess with our healing by "picking at the scabs".
On a different tact, are you saying that God the Father only SEES the Son?
What got me thinking that was all the "Ole T" stuff in the Bible spelling out a lot about God and His perfection and humans stark contrast after the fall. What I'm trying to say is that I try to fit a lot of Gospel stuff into the same theology of the OT because it's all one part of the big Bible picture.
So... totally cool with the OT backlogging and trying to push that into NT Gospel, I'm not sure the Father really sees us, but rather sees the Son that we're standing under. Jesus sees us individually, sacrificed for us, wants us to have the relationship with the Father that He has (baptism starts it) and continues to tell the Father about us (intercessory role).
Does that make sense?
Ok, so after reading your reply, Dion, I realized why I get such comfort in thinking that God doesn't see us as clean, but instead sees Jesus in our place: It gives me comfort becuase it's evidence that Jesus is the best FRIEND ever...he cares enough about me personally to stand between me and God, and, with him "getting the Father's ear", he says "This one is clean...". Showing Jesus not only as our Lord, but as someone concerned with each of us personally. It's the kind of action that, if a friend did it for you, you'd truly feel bonded with them on a intimate level.
i really like what bob says here, about jesus being that best friend, covering over our mistakes, putting in a good word for us with God. (if you are a LOST watcher, picture mr. echo jumping in last week to save his brother from starting down a dark path)
The "friend" analogy is great! it also helps put the "high priest" language of the NT book of Hebrews in a vernacular we can all understand. And it unpacks the "mediator" role that Jesus plays (cf. 1Tim 2:5; heb 7:25-26)
in response to something brett said. There is no question that God sees my sin. There is no question that it is painful for him to watch me hurt myself, hurt those around me, and interfere with the closeness that he and i were meant to have. But because I am in Christ, he chooses not to judge me according to my deeds. Maybe the key here is the difference between what God perceives (which is everything) and what/how he judges He sees my sin, no question, but when we talk about my standing with him (judgment), There is Christ advocating for me, as bob suggests, saying "i'm covering over this one... he's with me" Baptism begins this interaction and as long as we remain in Christ it continues.
I think the two of you have helped give me an even better perspective on this, thanks for that!
So, here's a burning question I've been wanting to ask. Why do we say that a Christian, living under the covering and in this friendship with Christ, has his relationship "restored" when the absolution is given after the Lord's Supper? Don't we live in a constant state of Grace? Isn't our relationship with God safely intact as long as our hearts are His and we have that relationship with Jesus, trusting in His Grace for our errors (loving God with all our hearts and desiring not to sin but to please God, and immediately are repentant if we find that we have sinned), even if we are not perfect?
great point! We do live under a blanket of God's grace CONSTANTLY. So when we talk of having our relationship with God "restored" it isn't supposed to mean that we were in trouble with God and now we're off the hook. Because God's forgiveness really could be instantaneous for us (in its effect), if we would let it. I think these special moments of spoken forgiveness (absolution) or communion are more for us then they are for God. They are reassurances
I think of it more like this...
so you're covered with Christ, but in the course of life that covering takes "hits." We sin, sometimes unwillingly but othertimes at least half participating (if not more) which puts weight on the relationship, strains it, at least puts doubt in our minds about our own commitment. There are disappointments that take their toll also. And sometimes they make us a little more distant from Christ. After just a little bit of time, it's true we're still covered with Christ, but we're limping along half wounded, pulling away from him, and the confidence that comes from that "covering" is fading. an intervention is needed.
That's when God steps in, not just with "status quo" forgiveness and grace, but renews it... gives an extra measure of it, imparts it on the spot to restore our confidence in his love.
another way to look at it is that your spouse is still your spouse even when you're fighting a lot, when one of you is always at work, and you haven't had a night out in months... but how sweet it is for a relationship when you come back together for a moment to sit and talk over a meal or cuddle while watching a movie. It has a restorative effect.
All of these are metaphors and they all fail a little.
I will say that you are on to something here though. Our theology has been affected (i think) by a different biblical view, one that positions us as either "close to God and secure" or "far away and in need of repentance" all on the basis of our goodness or badness. this is the theology behind many other christians who frequently employ altar calls.
For a long time in the history of the church, confession was NOT a part of the church service (okay, so it was to be done during the week in preparation for the Lord's Supper keeping with the biblical mandate to "examine oneself") As private confession dropped off, confession made its way into the actual church service.
I would guess that for most people confession/absolution seems to reinforce the view that I'm God's friend when I'm good and God's enemy when I'm bad and diminishes this talk about constant grace, being covered by Christ even in my sin...
But each week that I choose to forgo the confession, I get people who miss it, maybe because they don't know that what I've said in this original post is true.
Bottom line? More people should read my blog ;)
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