Monday Morning Manna: The Treasures of Snow and You

Flying into Vancouver, Canada last week, I was treated to a blanket of snow below. As I made my way around the city, I viewed yards, roofs, trees, and side streets, still covered with snow – a sight as rare in Vancouver, as in my home state of Texas. While non-Texans are amazed by our August heat, warm weather folks, like me, are intrigued by the snow, especially since we don’t have to shovel it, nor clean up after it. I loved my three days in the snow! G.K. Chesterton, English writer, poet, philosopher, and lay theologian wrote, “God paints in many colors; but He never paints so gorgeously . . . as when He paints in white.” So, I was reminded of God’s thoughts on snow. The Lord asked Job, “Have you entered into the treasures of the snow” (Job 38:22)? In a sermon on this verse, entitled “The Treasures of the Snow” one of my favorite preachers, Dr. R.G. Lee, said the snow, “with gracious generosity, hides the grimy slime of the mudhole, drives away the raven of uncleanness, transforms the unsightly into the beautiful, the ghastly into the gorgeous, the gruesome into the glimmeringly lovely.” Here’s also just one of many treasures from the snow – with the microscope, man discovered that each flake of snow is uniquely a symmetrical design – no two are alike. Each individual snow crystal is a unique treasure. When we enter into the treasures of the snow, we might also learn of the God who creates uniquely. Indeed, while we have similarities, no two individuals are alike. You are not a carbon copy. You are an original. That gives you value beyond measure. So today, as you mix into the mass of humanity, hold your head high. You are a unique treasure!

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.