Snowblind!

It sounds dramatic and tragic… Snowblind! For those who live in areas that spend a vast majority of the winter covered in white, snowblindness can be a very real problem. I live in the south where winter almost started to show up this year, so unless you can get snowblindness from looking at pictures of Vermont or Switzerland, watching downhill skiing on television, or staring at a snowcone, I think I’m safe.

According to the website MedicineNet.com, snowblindness is a burning of the cornea by ultraviolet rays. Also known as photokeratitis, it is a temporary condition that “typically occurs at high altitudes on highly reflective snow fields or, less often, with a solar eclipse.” While it can be painful and unpleasant, resulting in temporary loss of vision, symptoms usually only last about 18 hours.

Here’s another interesting fact about snowblindness…

Did you know that God is snowblind?

That’s right! When it comes to the sins of those who have chosen to put their trust in Him, God is snowblind. In Isaiah, God said to His people…

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool…” ~ Isaiah 1:18

In Psalms 51:7, the psalmist says this…

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Though our sins makes us filthy and reprehensible in the eyes of God, and separate us from His presence, Jesus came to give us life and take the guilt and shame of our sin upon Himself. For those of us who choose to accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers through faith in Him, God no longer looks at us and sees all of our sins, shortcomings, and failures…

He becomes “snowblind”… Blind to everything that kept us from a life with Him.

He now sees us as pure and clean, washed white as snow by the red blood of Jesus.

Want to learn more?  Watch here…