our daily bread

[Dexu Xia]

White as Snow

Though yours sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Isaiah 1:18

Last December, my family and I went to the mountains. We had lived in a tropical climate all our lives, so it was the first time we could see snow in all its magnificence. As we contemplated the white mantle covering the fields, my husband quoted Isaiah, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

After asking about the meaning of scarlet, our three-year-old daughter asked, “Is the color red bad?” She knows sins are things God dislikes, but this verse is not talking about colors. The prophet was describing the bright red dye obtained from the eggs of a small insect. Clothes would be double-dyed in this bright red so the color became fixed. Neither rain nor washing would remove it. Sin is like that. No human effort can take it away. It’s rooted in the heart.

Though yours sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Isaiah 1:18

Only God can cleanse a heart from sin. And as we looked at the mountains, we admired the pure whiteness that scrubbing and bleaching a piece of cloth dyed in scarlet red can’t achieve. When we follow Peter’s teaching, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19), God forgives us and gives us a new life. Only through Jesus’s sacrifice can we receive what no one else can give—a pure heart. What a wonderful gift!

Father, thank You for forgiving our sins and wiping them clean.

When God forgives, He purifies us too.

 

洁白如雪

你们的罪虽像朱红，必变成雪白。-以赛亚书1章18节

去年十二月，我们全家到山区旅游。我们一直都是居住在热带地区，所以这是我们第一次见识到雪景的壮丽迷人。我们凝视着白雪覆盖着的满山遍野，丈夫不禁引用以赛亚书的经文：“你们的罪虽像朱红，必变成雪白。”（以赛亚书1章18节）

年仅三岁的女儿在了解朱红是什么颜色之后，问道：“红色不好吗？”她知道上帝憎恨罪恶，但这节经文的重点并不在于颜色。先知以赛亚所描述的，是一种小虫的卵所形成的鲜红色染料。衣物在这染料中经过两道染色的工序后，这鲜红的颜色就会持久鲜明，不论是用雨水冲刷或用清水洗涤都无法除去。这俨然是罪的写照，靠人为的力量是无法将罪除去的，它在人的心中已经根深蒂固了。

然而，我们的罪虽像朱红，但上帝却能将我们心中的罪完全洗净，使我们洁白如雪，就像那山顶上的白雪如此纯净无瑕，是染红衣物再经过漂白和刷洗都无法达到的洁净。正如使徒彼得的教导：“悔改归正，使你们的罪得以涂抹”（使徒行传3章19节） ，上帝就会赦免我们，并赐给我们新的生命。唯有藉着耶稣的牺牲，我们才能得着一颗纯净的心，那是何等奇妙的礼物啊！

天父，谢谢祢赦免、
除净我一切的罪，让我洁白如雪。

上帝赦免我们，祂也洁净我们