The Christmas Tree (part 3)

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

When decorating a Christmas tree, most people use strands of tinsel. Tinsel comes in all sorts of colors, but some of them don’t show up as well as others. Favorites tend to be rich shades of red, silvery white, and sparkling gold. These three colors all serve to remind us about the Savior who was born in Bethlehem.

We are sinners; we ignore God and hurt the people in our lives. We need forgiveness. But the Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. That is why Jesus came down from heaven; born as a human being, He could shed His blood for us when He died on the cross. The blood of Christ frees us from our sins. Red tinsel makes us think about the blood of Christ.

Jesus’ blood acts like bleach. Bleach removes stains and makes fabric white. In the same way, the blood of Jesus removes the stain of sin from us, leaving us looking white. When John was given a Revelation of heaven, this is what he saw in chapter seven: there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands…These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. White is the color of purity, a purity that is only possible when Jesus takes away our sins. White tinsel makes us think about the purity that becomes ours through Christ.

Jesus died for us, but He did not stay dead for long. He rose from the grave alive on Easter morning, and a few weeks later He returned to heaven. While we were sinners, heaven was locked to us; but when Jesus takes away our sins, the pearly gates stand open in welcome. When we arrive on the day we die, Jesus will be waiting to escort us inside, and there He will bestow the best gift of all. Jesus says, be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Revelation 2:10). No one wants to die, but like Jesus we will rise from our graves to live in paradise forever. Gold tinsel makes us think about the crown of life that Jesus promises to all His faithful followers. The redness of Jesus’ blood makes us white, and prepares us to be crowned with gold forever.