The Refiner's Fire

Verse of the day: Malachi 3:2-3 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.

If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that not one of us would be able to stand (in and of ourselves) if Jesus appeared before us at this moment (Ps 103:3). Our Lord, and His Word are a Refining Fire, that burns through us, and exposes our facades, to show who we really are (Heb 4:12; Jer 23:29). As God's children, we should praise Him for the fact that Jesus' righteousness is what allows us to stand before Him (Lk 21:35-36). Like a refiner of fine metals, the Lord purifies us with the Fire of His Word. Interestingly, the refining process is one that is painful, and precise. The refiner heats the metal to a temperature hot enough to bring the dross (impurities) to the surface, in order to purify the metal. However, he intently monitors the temperature so as to not overheat the metal, so that it is not ruined. Once the metal is purified, it is then polished until the refiner can see his own reflection in it. This is our Lord Jesus, who allows the heat to be turned up in our lives in order to bring out the dross, or impurities, that He went to the Cross for (1 John 2:2), and continues that process until He can see Himself in us. He brings it all to the surface to make us aware of what is there, as He purifies us. The fuller's soap was used to make stained garments white. The Lord, by His Blood, has washed us, and made us white as snow (Ps 51:7; 1 Jn 1:9). One day we will all stand before Him, and as a Refining Fire He will judge our works, and what we did in His Name (1 Cor 3:12-13). I say all this to say that whatever difficulties we face in our walk with Him, we must faithfully endure, and ask ourselves, "What is God trying to teach me about myself, and Him, in allowing this?" We must trust that every trial, and every challenge, has been allowed for the purpose of purging us of some attitude, habit, or hidden sin, that God wants to bring to the surface, that He might purge it from our lives. For this reason it is of utmost importance that we maintain a daily routine of reading and studying His Word. We must continually allow God to show us what is in our hearts, that we may be continually confessing, and repenting of, those things He shows us that do not belong in the lives of His followers. I should also remind us at this point that the Lord does not just purge us from within, but He also uses this process to purge us from without in respect to relationships that ruin our walk with Him. The Scripture is very clear that corrupt company also corrupts our life (the way that we live, 1 Cor 15:33). There does come a time in our walk with the Lord when we must forsake certain relationships that corrupt us (companions that lead us to do that which is wicked or immoral before God). The one comfort we have is that regardless of how long we are in the furnace of life or how hot He has to turn up the heat, like a Refiner, He is with us, intently watching, so that we are not ruined in the purifying process.The bottom line is that God began a process of changing us, and making us more like His Son, who came and sacrificed Himself for us. Let us not make this sacrifice of no affect in our lives. Let us not resist what God is trying to do in our lives to make us more like Jesus. Let us intently seek to give up those impure habits, attitudes, sins, and companions, that the Lord is trying to purge from our lives. Remember, some day Jesus will return, and unlike His first coming, His second coming will be one of us giving an account of the lives we lived for Him here on earth. Our desire is to hear those words spoken in the Gospel, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Mt 25:23).