Snow tracks and sidetracks.

Snow is amazing.

Living in the DFW area, it's incredibly rare that we get anything more than sleet and ice once or twice a year. So, when I woke up at 1 in the afternoon and realized that my only class that day was canceled due to "averse weather conditions" (7 inches of snow), I did what any red-blooded American college kid would do - I went back to sleep for another 2 hours.

When I woke up again, I sat in my warm, comfortable room, and talked to a few friends over the internet for about an hour before deciding it was finally time to go outside and have myself some fun. Being the Texas-bred individual that I am, I quickly put on pants, Underarmor, ski bibs, a t-shirt, a huge jacket, a beanie, and the biggest boots that I had, in order that I would not even get the slightest bit chilly when heading out into the cold. I didn't have any gloves, but I had pockets, so I was all good.

Walking outside with camera in hand and phone in pocket, I proceeded to watch quite a bit of people having a good time sledding, sculpting, fighting, and generally enjoying the once-in-a-Texan-lifetime opportunity. However, since most of my friends were nowhere near the action, I decided to simply observe for the most part, and take quite a few pictures.

That changed when I was charged by a lone individual. My hands occupied with my camera, I was helpless against the three-snowball onslaught, and made a semi-distressed noise as the white spheres of doom exploded upon my protective layers. I was not prepared for such savagery! The girl who invited me to join the war shortly after confirmed my thoughts - I could no longer stand by idly.

It was an epic battle.

What began as two sides of 20-versus-10 quickly morphed into 20-versus-10-versus-7, and then to 40-versus-5, and then to approximately 50-vs-50. Snowballs flew, soldiers fell amidst the icy field, orders were shouted, and allegiances were formed and broken subconsciously by the frantic warriors. At one point, a lone individual darted through the carnage wearing nothing but red boxers and brandishing a bright green towel as a rallying beacon, skilfully avoiding the barrage of death-spheres being flung at him by the opposition and working his way back to his defenders, who allowed him to re-dress in safety.

However, all good things must come to an end, and I left for supper as the snowball war was winding down, grabbing some very good pictures on my way to the dining hall. Walking inside forced me to remove a layer or two, only to re-prepare them for the trek back. As I returned to the earlier scene, only a few scarce individuals remained, the forts and giant snowballs and igloos the only testament to their earlier existence.

Now you may be thinking, "Well, that's a great story, but what does it have to do with anything aside from you having a great time and getting amazing pictures?" Well, keep reading, and you'll see.

Essentially, my day was a collection of examples of Christianity - everything from outsiders' responses to our own actions.

Feel free to go back and re-read them if you wish - everything below this line will still be here when you get done.

Ready?

It starts at the very beginning - from the moment I first looked out the window and saw the snow. While my initial reaction was that of pleasure, I soon realised simply from the chill coming from the window that it was much more comfortable outside. Sure, there was an undisturbed world of excitement and adventure waiting for me, but there was also a warm bed and several more hours of sleep to get. Surely I'd have time to do it later; sleep was more important.

This mentality of "well-sure-it's-good-but-maybe-later" is pervasive in both the lives of Christians and non-Christians, and always has been. While we may be willing to give up some things, the more difficult requirements of Christianity are generally ignored (Matthew 19:16-22), preferring to stick with what we know and are comfortable with. It is clear that we don't really need to worry about anything that we give up in order to more thoroughly immerse ourselves in Christianity (Matthew 19:27-30, Luke 12:22-34), but we worry about these types of things anyway, and generally keep them held tight, preventing us from fulfilling our potential. It's something that I still struggle with quite a bit.

While I was tempted to draw some form of metaphor between bundling up and resisting the parts of Scripture that we find less appealing, I do not feel that such a point needs addressing at this particular moment, and so I have opted to skip it in favor of the next. This is not meant to imply that a valid point cannot be made; I simply feel that making such a statement is not my place at the time.

Let me continue, then, skipping far ahead to the snowball fight. I had imagined more comparisons when I originally conceived this note, but I feel that this one is the most essential, and I intend to flesh it out as fully as possible.

In this note, snow is symbolic of God. The pure, vast, untampered fields of snow that fell (and were clearly visible along the highway on my drive to work later that night) struck a solemn chord somewhere within me, and the only thing that I could think to compare them to was our Creator. Even though it was a scant 7 inches of snow, the entirety of the city seemed to be blanketed with perfection - a truly calming, somber experience (and one that I will likely not see again, should I continue to live where I do).

However, man is ill equipped to leave such things as they are, or to handle them in their state. Throughout the day, emergency sirens sounded constantly as individuals failed to recognize the power of the snow and ice and sent their vehicles plunging into guardrails and other cars, or sent their rears plunging to the concrete beneath their feet. Many of the fields soon became warzones, and the once-pristine blankets of snow were rapidly turned into countless defenses against equally countless offenses. While a bad time was had by few and a good time was had by many, at the end of the day, those parts of the snow that had been played in were unquestionably altered by men to fit their temporal needs.

Please don't get me wrong in this - I love snowball fights. I am simply making a point, and snow happens to be my tool for doing so this time.

Throughout history, mankind has constantly corrupted the public face of the Church for their own gain. From the Indulgences sold by the Catholic church in the Middle Ages to modern-day bigots ignoring New Testament commands in favor of Old Testament doctrine, people never stop attempting to use God's word to somehow prove that they are superior to others. This occurred in Biblical times (Acts 8:9-25, Acts 19:13-17), and it is still occurring today.

It seems to me that ultimately, the root of this issue is humility. When people firmly believe that they have in their possession a means to control anything, it is a very simple matter to cease considering the viewpoints and concerns of others while remaining confident in your own, unshakable position.

This is true of nearly everything, not just Christianity. The various Islamic factions continue their infighting, the conflicts in the Middle East show no signs of ending, nuclear research in Iran and North Korea continues despite warnings and sanctions, evolution is widely taught as fact with no attention paid to its numerous flaws, heads of major corporations continue to embezzle funds, corrupt government officials in our own country and in all other nations continue to behave as if they are above the law... the list goes on. The simple fact of the matter is that humility is not something that comes naturally to most people, and this is plainly, painfully evident.

It should be remarked, then, that Jesus was not only a staunch advocate of humility, but also a firm practitioner of it. He did not surround himself with religious leaders and prominent individuals, but instead ate and accompanied tax collectors (who were despised at the time) and 'sinners' (Matthew 9:10-13, many more). He did not proclaim himself a mighty ruler and instantly overthrow everyone, but allowed himself to be treated absolutely terribly, in order that something much more important than himself could be accomplished.

The world is expected to be shallow, materialistic, and prideful. However, as a Christian, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:5-7). We are expected to live as Christ lived, which entails a great deal of humility. We, as humans, are not above reproach, and it is guaranteed that we will be rebuked, corrected, debated (and the like) by both those who follow our God and those who do not. Regardless of the circumstances, however, there are clear outlines for our behavior (Mark 12:29-34; Ephesians 4:2-3; Colossians 3) and a clear definition for what those entail (1 Corinthians 13), and we would be foolish to abandon the greatest tools at our disposal in a vain attempt to preserve our pride.