As I sit and look out the window I see a rare site in the mid to southern part of Alabama. I see snowflakes gently falling to the earth. There is no rhyme or reason to their lodging they are simply carried to the ground by whatever wind may hit them. Snowflakes remind me of those who are spiritually cold. It may be they have never been saved, or that they are in a cold backslidden state. I believe it is snowing all over the world spiritually and in many biblical churches.
People are a lot like snowflakes in many ways. Snowflakes are complex, they can all be different sizes and take on different shapes, but one thing they have in common is that they are very cold. They are frozen! They don’t start frozen at their beginning, they are mere water droplets. Water is pliable and most useful in its fluid state. As Christians, we are to be like water, moldable by the Holy Spirit and the word of God. We are to be clay in God’s hands. He is the one who can mold us to be like His Son. In Jeremiah 18:4 Jeremiah talks about being a vessel in the hand of the potter. If the vessel cracks, He puts it back on the wheel and remakes it. His mercy and grace are always available to remold us as long as we yield to the will of the Potter. Both Jeremiah 18:4 and Romans 9:21 teach us that not only can God mold and remold us, but He and He alone has the right to do so. He has the power and the ownership of the clay.
Jeremiah 18:4 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
Romans 9:21 “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?”
Another aspect of snow is that it must be cold weather to produce it, and the colder the weather the longer it stays around. The longer it lingers the harder it gets. Freshly fallen snow is light and airy, but let it fall to the earth and temperatures stay below freezing and you will get hard-packed icy snow. Even though snow may be beautiful on the outside it can bring danger. It is the same with our spiritual condition. Matthew 24:12 teaches us that as sin increases in the world the love of Christ will grow cold. This is a condition we never want to be in. So what are the warning signs?
- You start missing your time in the word of God. You intend to get it done each day, but one miss leads to another and before you know it your conscience has been edited and you no longer are bothered by not studying the word. You convince yourself that it is ok, and God understands. You may think you don’t have time, but we make time for the things that are important to us. We eat, work, relax, and on and on. The most dangerous thing you can do as a Christian is miss your time in study and prayer.
- This will lead to acceptance of many things the world offers that are not pleasing to God. You make exceptions for the things you enjoy rather than examine them in the light of God’s word. You no longer live with the desire to be your very best for God, you live with what you convince yourself is ok. An example I see often in Christian circles is how we dress. No Christian lady in her right mind would go to church in a swimsuit that exposes her nakedness and the close outline of the private areas. Yet, we justify dressing this way in front of other men when we are at a pool or beach. At one time in my life, I did the same thing but then I heard a preacher say “No woman would invite a man other than her husband to see her in her underwear, so why does pouring water in a hole make it different? The area covered is the same.” This may make some angry because this goes against what we enjoy, but we need to decide if we are going to live the way God desires or choose to grow cold in our relationship with Him. This is the first step. His first and foremost requirement and affirmation of our loyalty to Him is our love, and our love equals our obedience.
John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
- When we don’t allow our snowflakes to melt, our heart hardens. It then damages our testimony and cheapens the gospel. Even when we come back to the Lord and our hearts are soft and warm again we have done damage to our testimony.
- Another danger to becoming a snowflake is neglect of prayer time. This is a wonderful gift that God has given us to communicate with Him. It is our intimate time that brings my heart into a connection with His heart. Prayer is a gift to be experienced not a gift to be admired from afar. It is a command from God also. In I Thessalonians 5:17 we are to pray without ceasing, Philippians 1:9 that our love abounds, James 5:14 for the sick, James 5:16, Luke 22:40 we are to pray that we don’t give in to temptation and I John 1:9 pray confessing our sins. There are 413 verses that use the words prayer or pray, plus many more that allude to it. I think God has made His point. He wants to hear from us and interact with us in prayer. A cold heart does not want to pray.
- The last sign of a snowy heart is our lack of desire to attend church. If you love the Lord, you will want to be with His people and worship together. You will have a desire to be there every time services are held. You will not use excuses or give in to your comfort you will go! You will rearrange your activities and schedule to include all times of worship. Sunday school or small discipleship groups will be vital to your growth, being with other believers will be a delight to your soul. Attending church will be like a refuge from this sinful world. In Hebrews 10:23 He tells us to “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” He knows the closer it gets to the second coming of Christ we are going to need each other more than ever.
We do not have to grow cold. God has given us everything we need to fight off the cold snowy heart. Examine yourself and see if there are signs you are heading in that direction. If you identify some of the signs, now is the time to take care of it.
