Divine Interruption

This morning as I started to pray I looked out the window at the snow and thought of some lines from an old hymn,
"whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow, wash me and I will be whiter than snow."
I prayed for God to purify my heart like the snow. Later, as I was reading scripture, I turned to Isaiah chapter 1. Here God is speaking to his people and says in vs. 11 "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals, Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me;I am weary of bearing them. Then in verse 16 he says: "wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing what is wrong. Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

vs. 18 Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD.
'Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.'

I had NO IDEA where the lines of that hymn had come from or the context of their use. God is saying that he wants our hearts. He doesn't want our sacrifices (for us this may be our money, time, or service). He is not interested in these things if we don't give him our heart. Otherwise it is all a show or a way to manipulate God into favoring or loving us. And what really blows my mind is that He says evidence that we have given him our hearts is that we will "seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow." However, even doing these things to try to win God's love without giving him our heart does not please God. He wants our will surrendered to His, He wants us to desire Him above all else. Our hearts are thus transformed. When that happens, our love for God will flow out and manifest itself in loving others. The things that God has compassion for will become the things we have compassion for. My sin that was like scarlet is now as white as snow because on the cross Jesus became scarlet for me. Thank you, Jesus.