Thursday, August 11, 2011
Matthew 28:5-6 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."
WHITE: THE COLOR FOR PURITY AND LIFE
White is the opposite of black. While black makes us think of evil, white makes us think of good. White is the color of triumph, happiness, and joy. White is the color of Easter, the color for purity and life.
The color white reminds us of God who raised His Son Jesus from death on the third day. This resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith. If Jesus were still in the tomb, our faith in Him would be worthless, for what good would it do to trust in a dead Savior? If Jesus were still in the tomb it would mean that our sin-guilt was not yet paid and the blackness of it would still be hanging around our necks. If Jesus were still in the tomb it would mean that all His promises were null and void, for He who promised to rise needed to rise just as He said. No resurrection means no forgiveness, no salvation. It means God's judgment, His justice, would indeed have to be leveled against us.
But the color is white. And white means celebration -- God raised Him from the grave never to die again!
White reminds us too of the angels who were dressed in dazzling brilliance on that Sunday morning when they greeted the women who came to the grave. They were the glorious messengers, the first to tell the news of the empty tomb. what a privilege it must have been, a privilege the women took for themselves as they ran off to tell others. A privilege we enjoy to this day.
White recalls the purity, the forgiveness, that belongs to all of us through Jesus Christ. Because of Him, Because of His death and His resurrection we can stand before God spotless and pure. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
White is the color of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and of the purity and life that His resurrection gives us. We have been cleansed of our guilt and even as He lives, we shall live also.
