From the April-June 2009 Issue
Lessons from the Snow
Andre and Marianne Rentmeister
SionFor the last few years we have been told of global warming and disturbance in the seasonal pattern. We have been in the Valais for over thirty years and this year for the first time we are having a real winter. It’s as though God were reminding us that he creates the seasons whatever the scientists may think (Gen. 8:22 and Psalm 74:17).
How marvellous it is to walk in fresh snow which is sparkling in the sunshine; every snowflake is different and bears witness to God’s greatness, richness, ingenuity and infinite beauty and at the same time that mass of snow is made up of millions of snowflakes. That makes me think of ‘the myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands’ who worship the Lamb of God (Rev 5:12).
The numerous winter sports stations in our region regard the snow, which is falling from heaven so generously, as ‘white gold’. Everyone is delighted, but not one note of gratitude rises to God our Creator (Psalm 147:16). The only praise is for the idol of science (including weather forecasting) because ‘there’s nobody above who controls the rain and the sunshine!’ How many hours have we spent clearing away the snow in front of our house in order to make access possible? And this has been repeated several times in one day! Many times I have been tempted to do as numerous others on the plain and rave and rail against ‘the filthy weather’ or ‘the wretched snow’ which really reminds us of God’s generosity. He is our Creator. He has made everything beautiful in its time and is reminding us of his bounty. Nevertheless the real problem is that our carefree society with its galloping urbanism has developed without respecting the seasons or foreseeing the consequences of such negligence (Proverbs 31:21).
This snow bears witness to God’s greatness and his gifts to the earth which feeds us (Isaiah 55:10). In the old days was not snow called ‘the poor man’s manure’ by our peasants who still respected the seasons? How this snow reminds us also of the salvation which God offers us in Jesus Christ (Isaiah 1:18). O how we would love to see our population grasp this message!
Bible calendars
For the nineteenth consecutive year we finished 2008 with an evangelistic effort, offering a Bible meditation calendar to each household in the Valais and by participating for the twenty-sixth year running in Sion’s Christmas Market for twelve days (from December 12th to 23rd). In answer to requests we have sent almost six hundred parcels and established contact with 179 new people. Our prayer is that through the meditation of the daily message on the calendar or the reading of the Bible these people will discover the liberating message of the gospel.
Christmas market
The Christmas market was the opportunity to renew contact with people met over the years. Even though the winter started early – the first snow fell on October 30th – during the market the weather was mild for the season. We must admit that the general attitude to us is indifference. We are still convinced, however, that in our de-christianised society the Christmas market is an opportunity to remind others of the real meaning of this feast. In Sion we have the advantage that ‘Father Christmas’ is still banned from the market as the organisers (Catholics) try to give a Christian dimension to this event. Our contribution is to have on our stand two Bible texts in large print which are readable from a distance and recall the true meaning of Christmas. They have challenged more than one person and sometimes created the opportunity for a discussion.
Once again we saw the good hand of God protecting us and enabling us to complete our programme which is so heavily loaded at that time of the year. We have also realised that we must reduce our end of year activities as we no longer have the same resources as in the past. Happily we have been able to rely upon friends who are pastors or preachers to take care of our services in the month of December.