07/07/2022
As Christians we realize that we are being refined each and every day by trials and tribulations. This is our furnace, fired so that once purified we will shine like the sun, and just as pure gold we will become soft and malleable in the hand of our Heavenly Father. 100% pure gold is easily cast or molded into shape, but even though it can easily be made into intricate shapes, it is prone to damage, and can be bent out of shape. Once refined by God we too are precious, beautiful, and highly sought after, but we must also be guarded, protected, and treated with great care lest we be crushed, or bent. The more pure our faith, the more susceptible we are to being damaged by the slightest hint of sin, and the more attentive our Father must be to us. We are susceptible to damage, innocent, and childlike… we are His prized possession.
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.”
Isaiah 48:10 ESV
Every parent knows how the innocence of a child makes them susceptible to injury, and how they can be easily misled by those who are worldly. So we watch over them, and guard them against all harm. They are pure gold, and we work day and night to mold them into things of great and intricate beauty. One would wonder why God would refine us to such perfection if it makes us soft, and easily damaged, but to understand this we need only hold a small child, and look into their loving eyes. How often I hear a mother say that she wished her baby could remain this way forever, or a father expound on how much he loves the innocent attention of his child. We are the children of God, and we adore Him.
“but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.””
Matthew 19:14 ESV
We like to think that strength is the ultimate attribute of God, and of men, but it isn’t. Our God is love, and all of love’s characteristics are soft in nature. Iron is strong, but it breaks and rusts, but pure gold can’t be broken, nor does it tarnish or rust. Pure gold will bend under pressure, but survives, and it shines forever.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV
Once refined, and given shape, we have become the adornment of God. We worship Him, glorify Him, and love Him; in this way we fulfill our purpose in Christ. Our Father’s strength might be His strong right arm, but His mercy, and grace, are at His heart, and it is here that we are stored in jars of clay, and counted as His treasure.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV
Do we feel the heat of the furnace as we face tribulation today? Are we suffering, and mistaking our refinement for punishment? Well with each time we are reintroduced to the fire the remnants of sin are further burned away, and we come forth shining brighter in faith than the last. One day we will be pulled from the furnace and see our perfect reflection in Jesus, and in that day we will realize that we have become like Him… shining as the sun, and pleasing to our Father.
“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:41-43 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for every time we are placed in the fiery furnace of trials and tribulations so that our sins can be further burned away, separated from us, and removed as far as the east is from the west. Thank you for showing us through Christ what we will one day become. Guard us Lord as we are perfected, and made pure. Protect us now, and always, from the sin, and evil of the world. Hold us close to your breast, and look at the love we have in our eyes for you. See in us the innocence of children… your children. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who treasures us, and who stands watch over us. Praised be your name for calling us your children, and taking great pleasure in us. Praised be your name for valuing us like radiant gold, and for keeping us safe from the thieves who would steal away our righteousness. Merciful are you who watches over us, and lovingly embraces us. You are mighty indeed, but in no way is your might and power more obvious than in the love you show for us. Hear our prayers Father, know our suffering, and little by little purge our shortcomings from us; purify us, and never let the furnace destroy us. Remove us from the heat at the perfect time, and give us rest in Jesus before our final judgment. Pronounce us to be your children, now pure, worthy, and pleasing to you. Seat us at your table forevermore… your treasure, and your greatest pleasure.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:12-17 ESV
Rich Forbes